


Walking Dogs And Shitty Jokes

by ramenchick



Series: Walking Dogs And Shitty Jokes [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Humor, M/M, Minor Levi/Erwin Smith, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 92,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1954941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramenchick/pseuds/ramenchick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren had always loved this particular park. It wasn't too far from home, but it was just far enough that he felt like he was escaping a little from his crappy home life.<br/>And... because he was there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfic, or sharing anything in general, so feel free to comment anything at all! I take all criticism or compliments! This will be just some light fluff and plenty of Eren and Levi love!

  "When are you going to get your lazy ass up and go to school already?"

  Eren groaned. Mikasa's voice was the _last_ thing he wanted to hear first thing in the morning. He tried to pull the covers over his head, but she snatched them away, making an irritated sound in the back of her throat.

   "Mikasa... Not today." He had meant for his tone to be forceful, but he just sounded groggy and disoriented. Mikasa was unimpressed.

  "How long are you going to keep Armin waiting?" she asked.

  Eren peeked up at her. "He's here?"

  "He's been here for the past fifteen fucking minutes. Now get up!"

  Eren supposed his pointless fight with his older sister was over. School was just the one thing she would never budge on. Sure, he could party all he wanted, try some light drugs, sleep around, but come Monday morning his ass had better be headed straight for school, regardless of what the weekend had done to him. And the weekend had done a serious number on him this time. His head was splitting and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to make it past lunch.

  "Alright, alright, I'm getting up," Eren said, sliding off his bed and to the floor where his pants greeted his face. He positioned himself on the floor so he could slide them on with minimal movement.

  Mikasa made a face. "You're wearing the same jeans from last night? Gross."

  Eren looked up at her with unapologetic eyes. "Do you want me to go to school, or not?"

  "Just hurry up." Mikasa promptly left, probably fed up with being in Eren's room so long. He wasn't the cleanest guy around, clothes piled high in corners on the floor and trash littering everything.

  Between his part-time job and school, Eren just didn't have the time to clean his room. Besides, he knew where everything was even without it being tucked away neatly in drawers.

  "Eren!!" Mikasa yelled from the kitchen.

  If she yelled his name one more time...

  Eren grabbed his pathetically empty backpack and walked into the kitchen, donned in the same outfit from last night, scuffed jeans and a plain shirt with some kind of unexplainable tribal print on it that was  already fading fast. He sat down across from his best friend, Armin, who was quietly sipping orange juice. Armin was a tiny blonde who could easily pass for a girl if he ever felt like it with his big blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes. He was dressed smartly in khaki pants and a button up shirt. Eren always got a kick out of how different they must look to other people; the nerd with the reject. It was hysterical.

  "It's about damn time," Mikasa commented, tossing a plate of toast onto the table in front of Eren. He stared at it. "If you'd ever wake up on time, maybe you'd get something better, punk. Now eat it and get out of that fucking door in less than five minutes."

  "You know, I read this story about the negative effects of swearing on the nurturing of teenagers..."

  "Bullshit. You don't read."

  Eren grinned. She caught him there. He stood swiftly and put the piece of toast in his mouth, ready to go. Armin took his cue and stood up as well, gently placing the cup down on the table.

  "Bye, Mikasa!" Armin said cheerfully, smiling at her. Mikasa returned the smile with a small half-smile of her own.

  "Keep him in line." Eren groaned; what was he, four?

  "Bye," he grumbled through the bread in his mouth.

  "Oh yeah, I'll be back late tonight, so fend for yourself with dinner okay?" Mikasa told Eren as he walked out the door.

  "Kay..."

  The two high schoolers walked out the door.

**  
  
**

  "'Keep me in line'?" Eren repeated to Armin. They were waking down the road to the subway so they could get to school; just one of the many advantages of living in the city without a car. "Like you could stop me even if you tried."

  "Eren," Armin said, his tone exasperated. "You haven't been in a fight in weeks. Do you really want to break that streak?"

  "Well, she keeps expecting me to, and you know how I hate disappointing people's expectations of me..."

   Armin tried to hide his amused smile. Eren grinned at his victory.

  "Anyway, why is Mikasa going to be late getting home? Problem at work?" Armin asked, slightly concerned.

  "Nah, nothing like that. She actually might be getting a promotion soon, so the apparently the big boss wants to have a meeting or something like that."

  Armin's eyes widened at that. "A... Promotion?! That's great! She's only been there for a year right? And it's a big company like Trost Tech..."

  Eren nodded. Secretly, he was really proud of his sister. Mikasa had graduated from Shiganshina High School at the top of her class and immediately she started a bunch of small internships around the area with her eye on getting a steady job at Trost Tech, the country's leading technology company. Her hard work was already paying off, as she was about to be the youngest person to be promoted to district manager in the company's history, not to mention the fact that it only took her a year to get there. And Armin was impressive himself. They were seniors at Shiganshina High themselves now, and Armin was sure to the valedictorian. He was aiming for Trost Tech as well. Eren had no doubts that he would succeed.

  Mikasa and Armin were headed for bright futures. And then there was Eren... Already a senior and still clueless about his future. He wanted to get a real job as soon as possible to help Mikasa with the bills; the meager salary his part-time job gave him was barely enough to cover his own cellphone bill. But he was good for absolutely nothing.

  Armin was still exclaimin about Mikasa's promotion. He noticed Eren's expression and paused to look at his friend. "Eren? You okay?" he asked.

  "What? Oh, yeah. Just bummed about the shift I decided to take right after school today. I'm going to be so dead."

  "Long weekend?" Armin gave a knowing smile. He sometimes ventured out with Eren when he hit the city, so he knew all too well what had probably happened to Eren.

  Eren grinned impishly back. "Maybe."

  They boarded the subway and in ten minutes were crossing the street to school. Students loitered outside the doors, talking about what they had done over the weekend and such. Eren regarded them all with detached disinterest. People outside of his immediate social circle tended to just annoy him. They just seemed so artificial.

  "Hey, Armin!"

  Speaking of artificial... Eren rolled his eyes and he turned towards the voice calling out to Armin that he sadly knew all too well.

  "Good morning, Jean!" Armin greeted him brightly. Eren elected to not say anything.

  Jean also ignored Eren, instead focusing on Armin. He smiled back, a little too happy about seeing the blonde if you asked Eren. But of course, Armin wouldn't.

 "Did you finish the Calculus homework?" Jean asked, even though he knew the answer.

 "Yeah."

 "Do you wanna maybe go over it together before class starts..?" Jean suggested this as suggestively as he possibly could. Eren had to fight the urge to hurl.

  "Sorry, but I was actually going to review with Eren before class. He was up so late at work last night that he missed a few." Armin had never been a good liar.

  Jean's face fell. Eren beamed at him. "You heard him, horse face. Get lost."

  "What did you say to me, Yeager?" Jean challenged. For a scrawny tall nearsighted guy in glasses and a sweater vest, he always seemed oddly confident in his nonexistent  intimidation factor. It never ceased to baffle Eren. Or piss him off.

  "Exactly what I said. You need a fucking hearing aid now?" Eren challenged right back. He was never one to turn down a fight.

  But Armin definitely was. "Guys, cool it!" he said with more force than you'd expect from his size. "Eren, let's go."

  Eren glared at Jean and followed Armin inside. Armin sighed and gave Eren a look. "What?"

  "You know what."

  "Oh come on! You heard what he said! You expect me to just take that?" Eren protested. Armin rolled his eyes. "Running up to you, tail wagging, just cause he got dumped."

  "Eren! It wasn't like that! And Marco didn't want to have a long distance relationship."

  "So he dumped horse face on his ass and skipped out. Yeah, I know the story." Eren couldn't keep the smile off his face.

  "Jean is still really sore about that," Armin warned. "You'd better not bring that up around him."

  "Since when do I have to tiptoe around that guy?"

  "Please."

  "...Fine."

  Eren relented, because it was Armin, and seriously how could he ever say no to Armin? Even if it meant losing some great ribbing material on horse face. He'd find some more.

  "So are you really going to help me with the Calculus assignment?" Eren asked, hopeful. Armin laughed.

  "What do you mean help you? You probably haven't even done it."

   Eren looked at Armin with an unashamed face. "Nope."

   Armin pretended to be shocked. Then, he stared at his hands and blushed a little. "...Was he really 'tail wagging' at me?"

  Eren stared at his best friend in horror. Oh no, Armin. Not that. Anything but that.

**  
  
**

   "Could you get the box out the back, Eren?" Reiner asked him hours later at the convenivence store, Eren's part time job.

  Eren groaned. "Weren't you a power lifter in high school?" he asked. "Shouldn't weaker people like me just watch the register?"

  Reiner snorted. "Weak, my ass. You can throw me around just as well. Plus, I'm the manager, so I reserve the right to make my employees do all the heavy lifting. Oh, and trash."

  "I'm going to file for superior abuse..."

  Eren put his hat on and headed outside. The convenience store he worked at was a small, dingy building off the highway. It was easily forty minutes away from his apartment, but it also paid ten bucks an hour and didn't require Eren to be particularly nice to the customers, so it was a good fit. A little walking wouldn't kill him.

  Eren circled to the back door of the store where all of the boxes were kept, that was somehow inaccessible from the inside of the store. Eren rolled his eyes. Because it would just make too much sense if things made sense in the world. He opened the door and stacked two boxes on top of each other, picking them up effortlessly. Reiner hadn't been exaggerating about Eren's abnormal strength. He whistled as Eren came in with the boxes.

  "I knew you could do it," Reiner said, not looking up from the magazine he had picked up to read. "Now, go take the trash out, and then you're done for the day. Bertolt will be here to take over your shift earlier than expected."

  Eren perked up a bit at that. Outside the windows, the sky was starting to turn a wash of orange and red that was captivating. He could get to the park before dark tonight.

  Eren hurried to take out the trash, walking back into the store as Bertolt walked in the door, awkwardly ducking his head so that he could fit through the door. Sometimes just seeing him walk into places was enough to make Eren feel sorry for the guy; his whole life had probably been lanky limbs and short entrances.

  "H-hey," he greeted them both. Reiner smiled lazily at him from his seat behind the register.

 Eren took his hat off and reached to stuff it onto Bertolt's short hair. Bertolt blinked at him. Eren was already halfway out the door.

  "Bye, Reiner! Bye, Bertolt! See you guys tomorrow!" Eren called.

   He unbuttoned the tacky blue button up with the convenivence store's logo on it and stuffed it back into his backpack. He walked under the highway overpass, his stride settling into a familiar pace. The pace of someone who walked the same path nearly every day.

  The familiar sidewalk soon took him away from the highway and towards the more woodsy part of the city, where the Maria entrance of The Wall Park was. Eren arrived at the gated entrance in no time and entered, sauntering over to his favorite spot.

  Deep in the trees, towards the very center of The Wall Park, there was a red stone clearing with a large marble fountain in the middle of it surrounded by benches to sit on and admire the view. Eren made a beeline for his favorite bench, the one facing west. It was so relaxing to be able to see the sun sink beyond the horizon.

  He sat down and shifted his weight until he was comfortable. It didn't take long; this was a bench he sat on nearly every single day. This was his unwinding spot. Everything just seemed to melt away as he say there with his eyes slightly closed, breathing in the deep, heady scent of the trees and the grass. Eren could never explain it, but he felt the best surrounded by nature. And sitting out here like this, it was hard to tell that he was even in the city. The sun began to drop, it's color becoming more and more red until the entire sky seemed to glow with the color. Eren watched it, content. Mikasa was going to be home late that night, so he was free to stay in The Wall as long as he wanted.

  Eren shivered. The night air had a bit of a bite to it despite the heat of the day, as was the usual. He searched in his backpack for his green sweater that he always wore, but came up completely empty. He groaned inwardly. Had Mikasa taken it out to wash it again? It was the one article of clothing he always wore, so it was constantly dirty and ratty and smelled of him strongly. She was always complaining about it.

  Upset that his night was going to get cut short, Eren contemplating just leaving before it got too chilly. He hated being cold.

  While he wrestled with indecision, a figure that had been slowly approaching from the opposite side of the park was coming into view. Eren hadn't noticed the figure at all, but then he had heard the unmistakable panting of a dog and the jangle of a leash and looked up out of curiosity and habit.

  The man walking the dog was... short. It stood out about him, especially dressed as he was in a long button down jacket that swished slightly at his lower calves. On an average guy, that type of coat would have come at the farthest just below his knees. The man was smoking, the light from the tip of the cigarette practically glowing in the dusk. He puffed on the cigarette in a curt, irritated manner, clouds of smoke whisping around his face. The dog zipped back and forth, obviously excited about all the grass and wanting to run around in it. However, the man made no move to release the animal, the leash extending from around his jacket pocket, where the other hand was resting. Occasionally, the dog would tug extra hard on the leash in a effort to communicate his needs and the man would be thrown off balance.

  "Tch." He would make the sound deep in irritation and puff on his cigarette extra hard. Obviously the guy had never owned a dog before. Eren almost felt sorry for the poor thing.

  The two were starting to get closer to the bench where Eren was sitting, and he thought about saying something to he man about the dog. As they got closer, Eren could make out more of the stranger's face. He felt an unwarranted blush start to creep into his cheeks. This guy was... beautiful.

  Icy gray eyes stared disinterestedly at the pretty scenery of The Wall as he smoked. His hair was very short in the back, a buzz undercut. Perfect jet-black bands framed his face, parted expertly in the middle and curled slightly at the tips, looking natural and so fucking cute. His skin was almost translucent, but his lips were full and pink...

  The stranger's eyes snapped up to meet Eren's and he immediately dropped his gaze, flushing. Had he really just been caught intensely checking out another guy's lips?!

  "Hey, brat."

  Was he talking to Eren? Eren looked up, slightly offended at being called a brat.

  The man stared at Eren, silently taking a long drag of his cigarette and exhaling smoke. Eren tried really hard not to think that this stranger was really hot when he was smoking.

  "Clean this shit up."

What?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was on a roll and am posting the next chapter on the same day.  
> I think I'll be all over the place with my updates at first, but as I get more views, I promise I'll be more consistent. Thank you for liking the first chapter enough for me to be inspired!

  "Clean this shit up."

  What?

  Eren blinked, trying and failing to comprehend what this older man was saying to him. "Uh..."

  The man sighed, taking the now-finished cigarette out of his mouth and flicking it to the ground, grinding the slightly burning bud into the concrete. "What the hell, are you deaf? I damn know you're not blind with the way you've been ogling me."

   Eren blushed, but didn't deny it. "I'm sorry..."

   "I don't want your fucking apologies, brat. I want you to clean that shit up."

   Eren was getting annoyed. Okay, he had heard him the first two times he said it. _What shit?_

  Then he glanced at the hyperactive dog and understood. This man had been talking about his dog the whole time. And by "shit", he had meant literal shit. As soon as Eren out the pieces together, his face dropped. Oh.

  "Uh..."

  "Yeah. You said that."

  Eren's anger glared again, but he closed his eyes and calmed himself. Man, this guy was a serious asshole. He never thought he'd meet anyone who pissed him off as much as Jean did.

  "Um, I don't really have anything on me to pick up your dog's..."

  The man immediately fished out a plastic bag with a pooper scooper inside from his jacket pocket and thrust it towards Eren, who accepted the bag hesitantly. "Uh, like I said..."

  "Okay, if you say the word 'uh' or 'um' one more time, I'm shoving my foot up your ass. Jesus, don't they teach fucking English at school anymore?"

   _Says the guy swearing like a sailor._ Eren rolled his eyes.

  "And don't roll your eyes at me, brat. That's disrespectful to your elders."

  "My elders?" Eren repeated, looking the man over. "You're not even that much older than me. And don't you think it's rude to call someone you just met a brat?"

  The man smirked. "I've easily got at least ten years on you, kid. And I called you a brat, because you're a brat. A brat's a brat."

   Ten years? He didn't look any older than twenty-two. Eren was having a hard time processing that this man was in his early thirties. Did he take a dunk in the Fountain of Youth or something?

   "I wasn't gonna make you clean for free, you know," the man continued. "I figured I could treat you to a meal or something."

   Eren's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Was this ridiculously beautiful man asking to take him to dinner? "In exchange for... cleaning up after your dog?" he questioned, wary like any good city kid would be.

   The man shrugged, reaching in his pocket to bring out another cigarette. He put it in his mouth and fumbled in his pockets, looking for the lighter. Eren's eyes were glued to that cigarette sitting on those ample lips.

  "I mean, you were staring pretty intently. I figured you must not have a lot of money for food if you were eyeing this cheap ass coat that greedily." Oh.

   Eren blushed at being mistaken for a homeless person. "No, I... Actually I'm not..."

  "So are you gonna clean up this shit, or do I have to wait for the next charity case to come my way?" The man's no-nonsense attitude caught Eren off guard and he lapsed into silence, giving a quick nod. "Good."

  Eren set to do his shitty task without any further argument. He figured it wouldn't do any harm to just clean up the poop and get paid for it in food; he was going to have to fend for himself tonight in the dinner area anyway. Eren told himself that... But he was lying. All Eren wanted was to be able to spend just a little bit more time with this sexy stranger who cussed a lot and made smoking seem like the hottest activity ever. Eren tried not to blush thinking about it.

   Once the deed was done, the stranger visibly relaxed, the tension in his shoulders leaving and causing them to droop a bit. He even managed a small smirk in Eren's direction, which froze the unsuspecting teenager to the spot. How could anyone be that ridiculously attractive?

  "Brat, I guess I owe you a dinner now." The man turned around and started walking back the way he came, dragging the reluctant dog away from the park and the grass.

  Eren took that statement as a signal to follow the man, and he quickly grabbed his backpack. Jogging lightly to catch up to the man, he realized he didn't even know his name yet.

  "W-wait!" he blurted. The man looked back at him over his shoulder. "What's your name?"

   The older man sighed in slight annoyance. "Don't you know it's common sense to introduce yourself before you ask someone else their name? Fuck, do these schools teach nothing? What the fuck am I paying taxes for if this is the kind of shit I have to deal with?"

   Eren wasn't sure if he was supposed to reply to the man's little rant or not, so he just rolled his eyes. _Oh yeah, this guy is an asshole. Almost forgot._

  "My name is Eren Yeager."

  "...Levi."

  "Levi? That's a strange name."

  "Shitty brat. So you have any right to be telling other people that their name is strange with a last name like that?"

  Eren was beginning to think it had been pointless to introduce himself to this man since obviously his name had been changed to "brat".

**  
  
**

   Levi had a nice car. Eren stared at the car, trying not to gape. He could swear this was the 2015 Jaguar F-Type that he and Mikasa had been gushing about on TV a few weeks ago, but there was no way right? What kind of person has that dizzying amount of money? Eren stared at Levi with renewed interest, but Levi ignored him, walking to the driver's side of the sports car and pulling the seat back to allow the dog to hop in, leash still attached. He grimaced when the dog's paws landed on the soft padding of the leather seats.

   Eren had thought this before, but this man really didn't seem like the type to own a dog at all. The way he was walking the dog and the way he stared at the dog in disgust were clear indications.

  "You change your mind?" Levi asked from inside the car. "Hurry up and get in, brat."

  "Right, sorry!" Eren fumbled with the door handle and clambered into the passenger seat. "You have a really nice car."

  "...Hm."

  "It's the new F-Type, right?"

  "Hm."

  "It must be. The front design is totally different from older models. It's the latest of the Jaguar collection of sports cars!"

  "Hm."

  Eren eventually gave up on that line of conversation and the car plunged into silence. Levi suddenly reached into the glove compartment above Eren's legs, fingers slightly brushing a knee. Eren flinched at the sudden contact, blushing deeply. His heart beat started to go a mile a minute. If Levi noticed, he didn't let it show. The older man pulled out a CD case and set it on his lap, pulling out one of the CDs without taking his eyes off the road and slipping it into the CD player.

  Soft jazz started to play, filling the car with the sound. Eren looked over at Levi in surprise. Whatever music he was expecting the older man to listen to, it wasn't this.

  Levi caught the look and smirked at Eren. "I don't like words. They're just a bunch of shit lyrics some angsty depressed fucker, or even worse some happy ass son of a bitch, out together to yell over the instruments that are trying to make music. Words are just a waste of time."

   Eren couldn't tell if Levi had meant lyrics or words in general with that last statement. He listened to the music and found himself enjoying it, getting excited whenever he could identify the instrument playing at the moment and closing his eyes in enjoyment whenever there was a solo.

  In no time at all, the car came to a stop outside a dingy looking twenty-four-hour diner. Eren looked out the window, puzzled. This was definitely not what he expected.

  "What, you think I was taking your ass to some five-star restaurant? Get out the fucking car." Levi said and got out. The dog made a whining noise of protest at not being let out and Levi glared at it. "You stay put."

  Eren got out of the car and followed Levi into the restaurant. It was your classic '50s themed diner, with blue neon lighting and red swivel bar stools at the front counter and girls walking around in poodle skirts with their hair all done up in big curls. _Definitely_ not what Eren expected Levi to be into.

  They say down at a booth in a corner and were immediately greeted by a petite girl with strawberry blonde hair. She practically beamed at Levi.

  "Welcome back, Levi!" she exclaimed excitedly, staring at him the way a thirteen-year-old would stare at their celebrity crush.

  Levi's face didn't change. "Petra, bring us both the specials. I want mine with black coffee." He glanced at Eren, beckoning him with his eyes to order a drink.

  "Um, I'll take a Coke." Eren said. Petra nodded at him.

  "Whose this cutie, Levi? Just look at those bright green eyes! They're so pretty!" Petra proceeded to put both hands on Eren's face, bringing it closer to her own. "Oh, they're like jewels..."

  "Petra, you're scaring the kid." Levi chastised lightly. "Go get me my damn coffee."

  Petra released Eren with a smile. He half smiled back, unsure of how to take the compliment. She waved and went to the kitchen to get their orders.

  Levi pulled another cigarette from his jacket pocket and proceeded to light it.

  "You sure do smoke a lot." Eren commented, attempting to make conversation. Levi grunted.

  "Do I, kid? You sure do like to state the fucking obvious."

  Eren glared at him, annoyed. "I was just trying to make conversation."

  "I don't like pointless conversation."

  Okay, then, how about something not pointless... "What's your dog's name?"

  "Didn't I just say..?"

  "Yeah, I heard you. But if you don't mind, I'd like to the know the name of whose shit I had to clean tonight."

  Levi stared at Eren, the cigarette still in his mouth. He slowly took it out of his mouth and blew a long steady stream of smoke in Eren's direction. Eren tried his best not to go completely weak at the knees. Was he doing this to him on purpose?

   "Rover."

   Eren snickered. "That's a shitty name."

   "It's not my fucking dog."

   Well that made sense. Eren was pretty good with animals and he could tell at a glance that Levi was most certainly not.

   They stared each other down for a while. Then Levi actually smiled. Sure, it was an amused and condescending smile, but it was a smile. Eren thought his heart dropped.

   "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he said, shaking his head.

   Before Eren could think of a rebuttal, Petra came back with a pot of coffee. She poured Levi a cup and left the pot on the table, winking at him and skipping off. Eren watched as Levi turned the handle to the front and gripped the cup with his fingers instead, lifting it up and taking a gulp of the piping hot liquid without flinching. It was the weirdest fucking way to drink something, but Eren could already imagine how Levi would receive that particular comment so he kept his mouth shut.

  Levi finished his cup of coffee and immediately poured himself another cup. He looked up at Eren. "What? You want some?" he asked.

  Eren was about to reply, then he caught Levi's look. The bastard was messing with him! He was just waiting for Eren to say something else out of line so he could call him a brat again. Well, Eren wouldn't let him win. He stared defiantly at Levi.

  Levi seemed unperturbed by Eren's gaze. He held his coffee cup in his odd fashion and leisurely drank the second cup. Then he met Eren's eyes evenly. "Keep staring at me like that and I'll start thinking you have a crush."

  Eren's reaction was immediate. He blushed up to his ears and dropped his gaze, spluttering an excuse. "I-I wasn't! You were... I don't... I mean, I-I didn't mean to..."

  "Brat."

  Eren wanted to glare at him, but he didn't trust himself to look at Levi's face right then. This man was sparking feelings in him that Eren couldn't really explain himself. His body felt hot and flushed and uncomfortable, but at the same time Eren didn't dislike the feeling at all.

  He risked a peek at Levi and his jaw almost dropped. Levi was looking out the window of the diner, coffee in hand and cigarette in the other, watching the cars pass by in the night air outside with an unreadable expression on his face. Eren couldn't think of any time he found someone more attractive.

  "Here you go, guys! Two specials!" Petra noticed, bringing two plates of food to them. Apparently the special consisted of hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, and carrots mixed with peas.

  Eren's stomach growled. He hadn't even noticed he was hungry until the food was right in front of him. Eren unceremoniously dug into his meal, eating at a rapid rate. Levi didn't attempt to hide the look of disgust on his face.

  "I see manners were another thing you didn't learn, brat," he observed.

  Eren ignored him. He was too hungry and the food was too good.

  "Oh, come on, give him a break, Levi," Petra interjected gently. "Everyone's like that when the first taste Mike's food. He's got that special sort of nose that can pick out just the right kind of ingredients to make everything taste extra good."

  Levi poured another cup of coffee. He held up the pot, now empty, to Petra.

  "Let me get you some more coffee." Petra turned to do that, and ran into a broad chest with a whump. She rubbed her nose and glared at the person she ran into in annoyance. "Oruo! Geez, don't just stand there like that! That hurt!"

  "You know what hurts, Petra?" the guy called Oruo said. He was very tall, with brown eyes and hair. Eren noticed that his hair style slightly resembled Levi's, except while it made Levi look like a male model, it was almost comical on this man due to his hair being naturally curly. "It hurts that I have to be stuck at the counter while you get to serve Levi his food and coffee!"

  Petra rolled her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. "Can I ask you to get Levi a refill on his coffee?"

  Oruo brightened up immediately. "Of course you can! Levi, I will bring you fresh coffee immediately!" With that, the tall man dashed off with the empty pot of coffee in the direction of the kitchen.

  Levi ignored them both completely, choosing to smoke instead. His food sat on the table untouched. Eren eyes him curiously as he ate. Levi never touched his food though.

  When Eren was finished, Levi stood up without a word and walked towards the cash register. Petra walked over to clean off the table.

  "Is he always like that?" Eren asked, gesturing towards the untouched food. Petra smiled sadly.

  "His appetite comes and goes. I'd say he actually eats what he orders maybe once a week or so."

  Eren wondered why he came and ordered food if he wasn't going to eat it. He didn't seem at all unhealthy though. Eren looked at the food, a bit sad that it would go to waste like this. Then he had an idea. "Could you place all of this into a plastic bag for me?"

  Petra looked confused by his request but nodded.

**  
  
**

  "What the hell took you so long?" Levi demanded, flicking his cigarette to the ground. He climbed in the car.

  "I was getting something for Rover," Eren explained, climbing into the car as well. He held up the special that Levi has ordered, all mushed together in a large plastic bag.

  Levi's eyes widened in horror. "The fuck are you gonna do with that?"

  Eren sighed. "Just pour it into Rover's food bowl when you two get home," he explained. "I'm sure he deserves a treat every now and then. And now you won't be wasting all this food."

   Levi eyed the contents warily. "Dogs aren't supposed to eat human food, though..?"

   "Not all the time, no. And not any artificial crap. But this is meat, starch, and veggies. Nothing in here could harm Rover." Eren was confident as he said it. He knew a thing or two about dogs.

   Levi stared at Eren for a while. Then he gave a curt nod. "Okay. But you keep that shit on your lap the whole ride, got it? Don't you dare get even the tiniest stain on this car or I'll string your balls from my rearview mirror."

   Eren gulped and nodded. This guy was a serious clean freak. In the backseat, Rover barked happily at the prospect of getting a treat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm still going strong with this, so here's another chapter! Don't worry, though, I'll definitely be slowing down by the end of this week. I'm thinking of posting once a week after this. Or, maybe the next chapter.... We shall see!

  Levi pulled the car up to the entrance of Eren's apartment complex. Levi put the car put into park and turned down the music. To Eren, all his movements seemed final; he was dismissing him, telling him to leave.

  Eren didn't know why that hurt him so much.

  "Thank you... for dinner," Eren said, his voice coming out in a squeak. He cleared his throat. "I guess I'll go now."

  Levi said nothing, just watched Eren. The silence was unnerving. Eren practically could feel the static in the air. He fidgeted in the passenger seat, his face growing hot. Why wasn't he saying anything?

  Eren couldn't take it anymore. He reached for the door handle and pulled, only to find it locked. He looked back at Levi, who had an amused half-smile on his face. Eren was sure he was making a really embarrassing face right then, but he couldn't stop.

  "Hey, brat. Give me your number."

  Eren blinked. Was he hearing things?

  "Uh..."

  Levi sighed. "Please don't start that 'uh' shit with me again."

   Eren swallowed his snappy comeback. He wasn't completely sure he could keep conversation going if he started anything at this point.

  "You want my number?" he echoed. "Why?"

  The older man looked away from Eren for the first time, leaning back in his seat. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs back seductively. Suddenly Eren could see his eyes much better, and they were beautiful. When he turned back to Eren, clear gray irises were looking at him. Eren's breath hitched.

   "What do you think I want it for, brat?" he asked in exasperation. "This dog. There's no way I can keep taking care of this thing. So I want you to dog sit."

   "You want me to... what?"

   Levi actually chuckled at that. "Man, you're slow sometimes."

   Levi reached towards Eren. Eren froze in the spot. Smirking, Levi ran his hand up Eren's pant leg; Eren flinched, gasping a little. Levi's hands were cold, really cold. Normally Eren couldn't stand anything cold, but these hands were making him burn inside. Levi kept tracing his hand up, and when he got to Eren's pants pocket, Levi reached in, spreading his fingers to gently scratch Eren's thigh. Eren could no longer form coherent thoughts, but he knew one thing: all he wanted was for Levi to keep touching him there.

   "Not that one, huh..." Levi murmured, and reached all the way across Eren to reach into his right pocket, pressing his body on the boy as he did so.

  "W-what are you..." Eren managed to gasp.

  "I'm looking for your phone," Levi explained evenly, reaching into Eren's other pocket and finding his phone. He let his hand linger in Eren's pocket, watching Eren squirm underneath for a moment before withdrawing to his own seat.

   Eren tried to steady his breathing.

   "Your phone is crap. You need a new one." Levi complained, punching numbers into Eren's flip phone.

   "My sister bought me that phone!" Eren said defiantly, snatching his phone back. He looked at his contacts and sure enough there was a new entry under... "'My Boss'?"

   Levi nodded. "That's what I am, aren't I?" he questioned.

   "Wha-! I never agreed to be your dog sitter!"

    Levi raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you won't?"

    Eren faltered. "I-I didn't say that..."

    "You don't say a whole fucking lot, do you? Anyway, I'll text you when I need you to come over. And don't worry, I'm not asking you to work for free. We can work out wages later. Now, it's late, brat, and I'm sure you have a curfew or something. Get out and go to sleep."

   "Wh-what?"

   Levi leaned close, too close. Eren blushed. Levi's lips formed two words. "Get. Out."

   There was an audible click of the car doors unlocking. Eren practically fell out of the car trying to get out. He tugged his backpack out of the car. Levi sped away without so much as a glance in Eren's direction.

**  
  
**

   "I'm home." Mikasa called, taking off her heels and jacket as she came through the front door. "Eren?"

   "Welcome back," Eren mumbled, emerging from his room in boxers and a hoodie. He scratched his wild mop of brown locks, yawning. "How was work? Did you get a new office?"

   Mikasa snorted. "Eren, all they did was announce my promotion today."

   "Oh. That's boring." Eren walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "We got any yogurt left?"

   "You're still eating?" Mikasa said in surprise. "What did you have for dinner?"

   "...I went out."

   Mikasa picked up on the false note in Eren's voice. He avoided her eyes, searching the fridge. "So no yogurt huh?" he said, his tone forced.

  "Eren... Did something happen?" Mikasa asked. She had never been one to beat around the bush when she felt something was wrong.

   "Well not really," Eren said, pouring himself some orange juice. "Just... I might have a second job."

   "Eren." Mikasa's voice was calm, but her eyes were pleading. "I thought we talked about this. You can have one part-time job while you're in high school, but that's it."

   Eren nodded. They had agreed to that when he turned sixteen and wanted to help with the bills. "Yeah, we did, but-"

   "Then there's nothing to discuss." Mikasa said, walking out of the kitchen. Eren followed her.

   "I'm just taking care of some rich guy's dog on the weekends!" Eren protested. "It won't get in the way of my studies! Hell, I could bring my textbooks with me if I wanted to! And it'll be great for us to have even a little more money coming in."

  Mikasa narrowed her eyes at him. "And where did you meet this 'rich guy'? How come I've never heard about him until now?"

  Eren fidgeted under Mikasa's penetrating gaze. "Listen, I'm really tired and I've got school tomorrow..."

  "Eren, cut the crap." Mikasa had her hands on her hips. Oh shit. She was serious about this.

   Eren scratched his head. "I... I don't really know all that much about him, besides his name and that he can't take care of his dog. He was gonna call me and we were gonna meet to discuss... things."

  "You gave this guy your _number?_ "

   Eren blushed. Was "gave" the right word?

It was more like he "took" Eren's number for himself. Recalling what had happened a few hours ago with Levi was exactly what Eren had been trying to avoid. Now he wished he wasn't having this conversation with his sister while wearing boxers. He tugged his hoodie a little lower over his crotch.

   "Well, yeah."

   "Eren, how could you be so irresponsible? Do you ever take the time to fucking think before you do anything?" Mikasa was starting to raise her voice.

   Now Eren was getting mad. "What the hell are you lecturing me about? Trying to find an easy paying job? I'm not five years old, Mikasa! If I say I can handle it, I can!"

  "I'm not saying you can't, Eren, I'm just saying you can't be so trusting of people all the time..."

  Eren thought of Levi, of his blunt words and harsh demeanor and no-nonsense attitude. Would a person like that lie to him? Why? There was absolutely nothing to gain from interacting with a kid like him.

  "You just don't get it..." Eren started to say, but Mikasa cut him off.

  "No, you don't get it. I'm trying to look out for you, and you keep running off and doing stupid shit that could get you killed one of these days!" Mikasa yelled at him.

  Eren glared at Mikasa. The glass of orange juice he was holding shattered in his clenched fist. Mikasa ignored the falling glass shards, meeting Eren's glare head on. They stood like that for what seemed like hours to Eren.

  "I can make my own decisions." Eren said with a quiet burning rage. "You're not my mother."

   Mikasa looked like she had been slapped. Before she could open her mouth to say anything else, Eren bolted out of the kitchen and straight to his room, slamming the door shut. He collapsed onto his bed and let out a frustrated sigh. Why the hell did he have to go and say that to her?

    Eren turned over onto his back and examined his hand, sticky with orange juice and cut in a few places from the glass. Man, he even broke another one. Mikasa worked hard for those.

    Guilt wracked his body and Eren shoved his face into his pillow, determined to apologize first thing in the morning. He fell asleep, dreaming of clear gray eyes and cold hands touching him everywhere.

   

      "Eren, wake up... Eren!!"

       Eren groaned, expecting for the covers to be ripped from him at any moment, but instead all he felt were gentle hands trying to shake him awake. That definitely wasn't Mikasa.

     "Armin..?" he mumbled, opening an eye. He was greeted by that familiar blonde head.

     "Eren, come on, we are going to be really late this time!" Armin begged, tugging at Eren's arm.

     Eren sat up and stretched, yawning. "Where is Mikasa..?"

    Armin bit his lower lip, thinking about something. Eren has seen that look a million times by now; that was Armin's problem-solving face. He must know that something was up between Eren and Mikasa already. How, Eren didn't really know, but that's why Armin was the smart one.

   "She went to work early," Armin said. "Mikasa said something about needing to be ahead of the game since she was just promoted and all..."

   Eren sighed. Armin really was a terrible liar. So Mikasa left before he woke up, huh?

   "Alright, I'm getting ready. Wait for me in the kitchen." Eren got out of bed and started searching the floor for clean clothes to wear. Armin nodded and scampered off.

   Eren slipped on a graphic tee and let another sigh slip. Angry from an unresolved argument with Mikasa and sexually frustrated from an encounter with a sexy older guy, Eren could tell that his patience was going to be at a record low today. Well, at least he didn't have work.

    Armin was nervously tapping the table when Eren emerged from his room, backpack in tow. Yep, he definitely knew what was up.

   "Ready?" Eren asked and Armin jumped from his seat.

   "Y-yeah, ready to go!" he said a little too quickly and scrambled to grab his own school bag. "Let's go!"

    Eren half-smiled in amusement and locked the front door behind them. The two started walking towards the subway station. It was only two blocks away, but the silence made the walk seem much longer. Armin kept glancing sideways at Eren the whole time. Eren sighed; third time, and the morning has just started.

    "We had a fight, okay?" Eren said, choosing to come clean over having to deal with overly-concerned Armin the whole way to school.

    Armin nodded. "I know."

    "Well, say what you want to say then. I know you have been dying to tell me."

    "Eren, I..."

    "Armin." Eren let a bit of his impatience leak into his voice.

    "...I agree with Mikasa."

     Eren closed his eyes and let out a breath, slowly. He wasn't going to blow up at both of the people he cared about in a span if twelve hours. "Do you?"

     "I mean, not completely. I do think it's worth checking out if you really want to. Money is money. But, I also understand where Mikasa is coming from. You aren't the best judge of character all the time. I just want you to be careful, and not agree to anything right away."

    Eren nodded. Of course, Armin was right. Eren had gotten into a lot of trouble before because of his bad judgement calls. If it weren't for Armin and Mikasa watching out for him, Eren would probably be dead by now. Still...

     "It's different with this guy, Armin. I know it." Eren insisted. Armin eyed him with concern. "I know what I'm doing. I promise nothing bad will happen."

      "Eren..."

      Eren was starting to get mad again. Why couldn't anyone just trust him for once? He wasn't the same stupid kid that got into fights every day anymore. He had changed and gotten his act together. Why didn't anyone else see it?

       "Forget it, Armin." Eren's voice sounded harsher than he meant it to. He turned and started walking the opposite direction.

     "Eren, where are you going?!" Armin demanded. "Eren, wait!"

     Eren knew it was stupid to be getting this upset. Armin was just looking out for him. So was Mikasa. Both of them just wanted to keep him safe. And yet, he was angry. He was angry that they thought he needed protecting all the time. He was angry that they didn't trust him when he said it would be alright.

    Eren couldn't go to school today. All he would do was get into a fight there. He needed to escape. He needed to go somewhere and calm his nerves for a day, so he could properly apologize to Mikasa and Armin later.

    He needed to go to the park.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! If you're still with me, thank you so much! I don't know if it's good or if I'm just throwing cupcakes at a wall and hoping stuff sticks or what, but thanks for sticking with it and reading on! And to reward you for being a faithful reader, I give you a new character that you've probably been impatiently waiting for: Hanji! Enjoy!

   Once Eren caught sight of the The Wall Park, he visibly started to relax, even letting a small smile escape. He always felt at ease here. Eren walked quickly through Maria entrance, eager to be sitting on his favorite bench again. Eren walked down the path towards the clearing, feeling relief start to course through his body. Just a bit further and...

   Eren's face fell in an instant. The sound of children's laughter filled the air as they played around the fountain in the clearing that was Eren's favorite spot. And it was being violated by all of these people. Mothers sat on every bench available, chatting amicably about whatever firsts their child had accomplished the other day and some expensive gift they had just recieved from their husband.

     _Well, it is broad daylight. It only makes sense._ But somehow, that didn't make Eren feel any better. In fact, he felt angry that all of these people just had to bring their kids to the park now of all times.

     Eren let out a breath. He really needed to calm down. He turned away from his sanctuary and wandered further into the park, no clear destination in mind. He just knew that he needed to go.

    The Wall Park had a unique sort of structure. It was built about a hundred years ago, around when the city itself was being constructed, by a group of environmental activists, and encompassed the only greenery for hundreds of miles. The park was circular, with three entrances, each inside the other: the outermost entrance, Maria; the next entrance, Rose; and finally the innermost entrance, Sina. Behind the Sina entrance there was supposedly a country club in the shape of an old Western-style castle, but Eren had never been there before. You needed a pass to make it into Sina entrance.

    Eren passed through the Rose entrance without a second thought. He usually stayed away from this section of the park. Because it was deeper in than the outermost part of the park, the inside of Rose entrance was fraught with drug dealers and the like, looking for somewhere secluded to make their shady deals. But Eren was desperate for any kind of  calm and wasn't thinking straight, so he plunged deeper into the park without any regard for the possible dangers.

    Eren stopped and sat down on a random bench. It felt cold and alien. He shifted uncomfortably, grunting in disapproval. Eren wanted to be sitting on his bench. He closed his eyes in an effort to relax.

    "...not sure about this, Hitch."

    "Shut it, Boris!"

    "But, I don't like this..."

    "We are just following Nile's orders, Boris."

    "This feels wrong..."

    " Just shut up, Boris."

    Eren's eyes opened and he turned to look for the source of the voices. They were coming from two hooded figures standing behind the trees, a little ways from the path. Eren could tell they hadn't noticed him yet. He contemplated discreetly getting up and leaving.

    "Now look, Nile said we had to get this stuff delivered by tonight before Levi notices, okay?"

     Eren's head snapped up at the mention of Levi's name. What was that? What did they just say?

     "There's no way he won't notice all of this product being moved. What the hell is Nile thinking?!"

     "It's not our job to question, it's our job to do what the fuck we're told."

    Eren was up and running before he even knew what he was doing. He didn't know he had punched one of them until he heard the dull smack and felt the throbbing of his hand. The other guy gasped.

    "Hitch!" he exclaimed.

    "Boris, don't say my name, you dumbass!"

    Eren smacked the other guy square in the jaw, sending him sprawling on the ground along with his partner in crime. Eren huffed; man, that felt good. He felt some of his frustration ease out of his body. Even if he hadn't been fighting much in the past few months, his body remembered the familiar adrenaline rush all too well. This was why he fought. Just like his bench, his fists made all the bad things in his life go away, even if only for a moment.

     "Who the hell are you?!" the one named Hitch demanded, spitting out a bloody tooth.

    "What are you hiding from Levi?" Eren's voice was calm, too calm. It sounded false to his ears.

     "Wh-what? You know him?" Boris asked, surprised.

     Eren ignored him, concentrating on Hitch. He was obviously more of a bastard than the other one. Eren grabbed Hitch by his collar and dragged his face up close. "What is this 'product'?" he growled. Hitch cowered in fear. "What is it?!"

     Before Eren could get an answer out of him, he fell to the side, the side of his head throbbing. Eren didn't even have time to yell. He could feel blood pouring from a wound on his head. He blinked and looked up, his vision blurry.

    Levi stood there, smoking a cigarette. Eren stared at him, unsure if he was imagining him there or not. Levi didn't give him time to wonder that either. He raised a leg... and started to kick the living shit out of Eren. Eren cried out in pain, but Levi didn't stop. He kicked and kicked, in Eren's face, in Eren's stomach, in Eren's chest. Fear started to grip his heart as the pain began to take over his mind.

    Then Levi stopped. He pulled Eren up by his hair and dragged him over to where Hitch and Boris were still sitting. He flicked his gaze at Eren's beaten face and over to them. The two boys shuddered visibly.

   "I was taking a stroll, and I heard voices." Levi explained in a conversational tone. "Then I recognized Boris here's voice and saw you two get punched by some random punk kid. I figured I should help you guys out. You have to meet with Nile, right? You kids had better run along before you're late."

    "Y-y-yeah, you're right. Th-thank you," Hitch managed to stammer out, pulling Boris up. They ran off, scared out of their minds.

    Levi took a drag of his cigarette, sighing. "The fuck, brat? You ruined my whole operation..."

    Eren didn't know what he was talking about. But it was getting too hard to stay awake so he could ask him. _My fucking head hurts..._

**  
  
**

   Eren woke up on a bed. He didn't recognize the room he was in and sat up in a panic. Pain sliced through his temple and Eren groaned, reaching up to feel his head. His fingers met a gauze. What..?

    "You up?" came a voice from across the room. Eren looked up. "It's about damn time."

   "Levi?"

   Levi smiled at that. "Who the fuck else would it be, brat? Your fairy godmother?"

   "My head hurts..."

   "A swift kick to the head will do that to a person."

    It came back to Eren in a rush. He glared at Levi, feeling a betrayed. "You hit me. Why did you do that?! Those guys were-"

    "Scum." Levi finished for Eren, walking over to him. He pushed Eren's head back down to the pillow. Eren resisted, but Levi pressed slightly and the boy whimpered in pain. "Now lie still, okay? You could have a concussion."

    "It's your fault," Eren spat. Levi regarded him with unapologetic eyes.

     "I'll get some ice. Do you want water or something?" Levi asked, turning away.

     "I want to know what the hell is going on."

     Levi stopped at the door. He looked back at Eren, his expression guarded, as if he was trying to make a decision. "There's nothing to tell a brat like you. I messed up your face, so it's only natural that I'd fix it up. Now stay put and don't move your head too much."

    He left Eren laying there, utterly confused. He looked around the room he was in. White walls, white furniture; it was downright creepy not to have any colors in a bedroom. Eren stared at the slit in the door that Levi had just exited and strained his ears, trying to decipher how far Levi had gone. Maybe he could leave...

     Eren heard footsteps approaching the door and he tensed. The door was pushed open and in came Rover. Eren blinked in surprise. Rover barked eagerly and ran into the room, clearing the bed in one smooth jump and pouncing on Eren, covering his face in wet, sloppy kisses.

     "Woah, woah, calm down, boy!" Eren said, chuckling. "I missed you, too."

      Rover nuzzled the crook of Eren's neck, content. He stretched out beside Eren's body and put his head on Eren's thigh. Eren stroked his fur absently. So if Rover was here, then that means he was in Levi's place. Despite everything that had just happened, Eren felt himself start to blush. This must be Levi's bed he was laying in. Though it could have easily been a guest bed as well; the sheets and pillows smelled freshly washed and laundered. Not the faintest scent of cigarettes and caffeine that Eren was positive Levi's scent consisted of.

     Levi came back into the room and froze once he spotted the dog sitting on the bed with Eren. "Get that fucking mutt out of my bed."

   So this was his bed... Eren obeyed and pushed an unwilling Rover off the side. Levi made a noise of disgust as he examined the disturbed spot where the dog had just been lounging.

   "Perfect. Now I'll have to change the sheets." Levi grumbled.

   Eren almost laughed. This man was most certainly not an animal person.

   Levi glared at him. "Wipe that smile off your face, brat."

   It was then that Eren noticed what Levi was carrying. "What's that?"

    Levi held up more gauze, cotton balls, and peroxide. "What's it look like? Now stop asking stupid questions and sit up."

    Eren sat up slowly this time and realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. His entire waist was wrapped up in gauze as well. He immediately blushed and looked at Levi. The older man gave no explanation, moving closer to sit on the edge of the bed where the dog hadn't been.

   "Lift your arms." Eren obeyed, and Levi began to unwrap the gauze from around his waist.

   Eren tried not to flinch when Levi's cold hands encountered flesh. His skin burned wherever there was contact. He opened his mouth slightly to let out a strangled breath. Levi was so close that he could smell the smoke from the last cigarette he had smoked. It was intoxicating. Levi smirked. He dabbed a cotton ball with peroxide and cleaned the areas where he had kicked Eren. The skin was tender and Eren grunted with obvious displeasure; the alcohol in the liquid burned his wound. He squirmed.

    Levi caught his eyes and held them. Eren couldn't look away from those clear gray eyes.

    "Stop squirming, you big baby." he ordered. Eren frowned.

    "But it burns." the boy protested in a whiny voice.

    Levi studied him, then let out a frustrated breath. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the bangs back in that way that Eren really liked. "Look, I've gotta finish this. Now stop pouting like a three-year-old, and maybe I'll give you a reward for acting your own fucking age."

    Eren couldn't stop his blush at that, wondering just what his "reward" was going to be. He stayed completely still after that, obediently letting Levi clean the rest of his chest wounds.

    "Now turn around." Eren turned, and Levi applied the cotton ball to his back as well. He was closer this time, too close. Eren could feel Levi's breath on his back and he shuddered, but not from the cold. In fact, he was getting hot.

     "Good." That single compliment almost unraveled Eren. He felt tight everywhere, and yet he wanted to keep this feeling building.

    Levi began to wrap a fresh gauze around Eren's waist and Eren tried his best not to fidget. But he was becoming increasingly more aware of a certain... _problem_ , and was finding it difficult to keep still.

     Levi looked over his work with a satisfied smirk. He reached for the dirty gauze gingerly and made a move to get off the bed so he could dispose of them. Eren grabbed his wrist in a flash, stopping him.

     "What is it, brat?" Levi questioned, turning back to look at the hand tightening on his wrist.

     Eren looked up, blushing furiously all the way to the tips of his ears. His big green eyes were frustrated and pleading. His lips were slightly parted, whatever he was trying to say caught in his throat. Levi almost smiled. Oh, this brat was so ready.

     "L-Levi, I..."

     "Helloooooo? Anybody home?" a high, screeching voice yelled from beyond the bedroom.The blood drained from Eren's face as he tensed up, any previous arousal wilting instantly.

     Levi made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. "You always have the best timing, Hanji."

     Eren looked at Levi, puzzled, when a tall woman with bright brown eyes and a short brown ponytail appeared in the doorway, grinning wildly from ear to ear.

     "Oh, there you are, Levi!" she exclaimed. Eren winced; this lady was so loud. She wore a simple blouse and jeans under a white lab coat. Obviously a doctor or professor of some kind. She had glasses on with a silver chain attached to the ends that hung loosely around her neck.

      The woman called Hanji burst into the room and walked right up to Rover, who had been sitting in the corner of the bedroom in his own bed quietly up until then. She crouched and grabbed the dog' ears roughly. He barked at her.

     "How have you been, Rover?! Oh, I've missed you so much!! Has your master been treating you well? I know he's an ass, but he means well, I promise. Oh? Is that dinner I smell on your breath? Good, good, you seem to be eating properly. Your eyes seem clear, too, but let me just check..."

     Hanji pulled out a light from her coat pocket and shined it directly into Rover's eyes, examining his pupil.

     "Hanji," Levi said, interrupting her little episode. "I didn't call you about the dog."

     "Oh?" Hanji stood up, brushing off her coat. Then she finally noticed Eren, in bed. "Well, hello there! Who's this, Levi?"

      "Just some brat," Levi said dismissively. "He caused me more trouble than I thought he would, and so I had to get pretty rough with him. I want you to check him out."

      Hanji frowned at the prospect of checking humans. "Levi, I'm a vet. I don't have the qualifications to look over a human..."

      Her words trailed off as she looked closer at Eren's face. Before he could ask what was wrong, she bolted over to his side, grabbing his face and bringing it right in front of hers.

    "Hey-!" Eren protested.

    "This boy has wolf eyes!!" Hanji announced, practically squealing.

     Levi lifted an eyebrow. Eren blinked, unsure of how to react. "I have... What?"

     "Your eyes are the complete shape and structure of that of a wolf!" Hanji explained, barely able to contain her excitement. Her grip on Eren's head was painfully tight. "I've never actually seen this phenomenon up close! Your eyes are slightly larger, but definitely a wolf's eyes! Oh, this is so fascinating! And they're such a pretty green..."

      Levi removed Hanji's hands from Eren. "You're hurting him. He took a blow to the head, you know."

       Hanji looked over Eren once more, her eyes widening. "Wow, you really didn't hold back, did you..?" She examined his head. "This boy's lucky he doesn't have a concussion. His head must be tough. Oh, but that gash might need stitches. It's still bleeding a little."

      Levi shrugged, still unapologetic. Eren sighed, exasperated. _You could show a little remorse... This is your fault, you know..._

     "I'll fix you up, good as new, my little wolf boy!" Hanji promised, patting Eren on the back. He smiled warily. She seemed like a nice person at least, if not a bit high maintenance.

   

    "Now, here's my number. You make sure you call me in a little while so I can take those stitches out, okay?" Hanji instructed, pressing a business card into Eren's hands.

   "Thank you..." He read the card: Hanji Zoe, Head of Animal Product Testing Research and Experimentation, Trost Tech. His eyes almost bulged. Animal product testing?! This woman wasn't a vet. She was a mad scientist!

   "I'll be around for Rover's next check up in a week or so, Levi," Hanji said, patting Levi hard on the shoulder as she walked by. She jingled a house key in front of him. "You'll probably be at work, hm? I'll just let myself in then."

   Levi nodded. Hanji waved one last time at Rover and left the way she had came. Eren heard the click of the front door closing.

   Levi regarded Eren silently. Then he sighed. "Let's get you home. It's getting late, and it's a school night."

   Eren had completely forgotten it was even a weekday since he hadn't gone to school. He must have been asleep most of the day, too. He hadn't checked his phone either. Armin must have texted him.

   Eren's eyes widened. Oh shit. Armin! He must be worried sick about Eren! And Mikasa... Eren didn't even want to think about what was in store for him once he got home. And how was he supposed to explain these stitches in his head?

    Levi tossed Eren's old shirt on the bed.

"I washed it. Still not sure if it's all the way clean, though, since it was a piece of shit even before the blood stains."

   Eren wordlessly put his shirt on, careful not to mess up the gauze wrapping. "Thanks."

   Levi just nodded. "Let's go then."

   They walked out of Levi's apartment and to the elevator. Eren looked around the building in amazement. They were at the top floor of this ritzy place, and Levi's place was the only one occupying the floor. He must have a really good job to afford all of this and that Jaguar.

    The two took the elevator down to the car garage, neither saying a word the whole way. Eren was too preoccupied with thoughts of how to contain his sister's rage to make small talk, and Levi wasn't much of a talker anyway. They both wordlessly climbed into Levi's car and drive into the night.

   By the time Levi pulled up to Eren's apartment complex, Eren still hadn't thought of a proper way to explain himself and now he was starting to get nervous. When it was clear Eren hadn't even noticed that the car was stopped, Levi sighed and put it in park. He took out a cigarette and patted his pockets for his lighter.

   "Here." Eren said, handing Levi the lighter. It has been sitting in the cup holder.

   Levi took the lighter from Eren and lit the end of his cigarette, taking a puff and exhaling quickly. Eren made no move to get out the car.

   Levi raised an eyebrow. "You getting out or what?"

   "Yeah. Yeah, I am, just... give me a minute." Eren said in a strange tone.

   Levi shrugged and continued to smoke. Whatever. It's not like he had anywhere to be. They both sat in the car for a while longer.

   It felt strange to Eren, sitting in silence with this complete stranger. Eren knew next to nothing about Levi, yet he was considering working for him. If only Levi would just tell him more about himself...

   "Hey, Levi..."

   "Look, brat." Levi interrupted, looking straight at Eren. "If you're hoping for something to happen in my car, you can forget about it. I don't usually make a habit of getting my car seats dirty, and if earlier was any indication, you're not that great at controlling yourself."

    Eren's eyes widened in shock and horror. He knew. Holy fuck, he knew.

   "Th-thanks for the ride, and the b-bandages, and uh, the stitches!" Eren said quickly as he tried to pry the door handle open. He backtracked out of the car, blushing and stammering and almost falling over himself. "Good night!"

   With that crappy goodbye said, he turned and sprinted towards his apartment. Eren was so embarrassed he could die.

   He knew. Oh shit, he knew.

    _I was sporting a full-on boner in his fucking bed, for Christ's sake, and HE KNEW._

Eren wanted nothing more than to find a hole he could bury himself in and just die.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, there is no Levi in this chapter, but I do introduce a lot of characters! You'll see some camio performances by some minor characters, first appearances in the series by some major character. and the introduction of a new couple! If that doesn't get you excited to read, well, read it anyway, I guess. The story continues!

    Eren stopped short of his front door, panting. At first, all he wanted was to get away from Levi and that car and that horrifying truth that had been revealed; but now that he was at home, Eren was scared for a whole other reason. _What was that saying again? "Out of the pan and into the fire"? Well, that's what the hell is happening to me right now._

    Eren tried to slow his breathing. He took out his keys, hands shaking, and unlocked the door, walking in before he could change his mind and run away again.

    "Mikasa? I'm home..." Eren called out. There was no answer. "Mikasa?"

    Eren walked into the living room, finding Mikasa there, curled up on the couch, fast asleep. She was dressed loosely in sweatpants and a large hoodie, tangled in a small red blanket. The way Mikasa clutched that red blanket to her chest sent a pang straight to Eren's heart, all sorts of memories threatening to get out and consume him. This was his fault. He had made Mikasa worry so much and hurt her. Why, why does he always mess shit up..?

    "Mikasa... Mikasa, wake up," Eren called gently, lightly shaking her.

    Mikasa didn't open her eyes, mumbling in her sleep. "Hmmm... Armin, are you still here? I told you to go on home... Your grandpa is probably worried you know..."

     Armin was here too?! Eren bit his lip. "M-Mikasa, it's me."

    Mikasa's eyes flew open. She sat up, head butting Eren. "Eren?! You're back?!" she exclaimed.

    "Ow! What the hell, Mikasa? Don't sit up so suddenly, geez..." Eren's protests were muffled by Mikasa pulling his head into her chest. He sighed, letting her hug him.

    "I was so worried about you..."

    Eren flinched. This was much worse than Mikasa being mad at him. He couldn't handle it when she was sad like this. He had only seen her like this two times before: when she first came to live with his family, and when Eren's mother had died.  

    "I'm sorry."

    Mikasa released him, smiling a little. It was when she smiled like that at him that Eren realized he was truly loved by his sister. He was her only family, all that she had left, and she was just trying to watch out for him as best she could. It was thanks to Mikasa that he had made it this far.

    "Yeah, you are," Mikasa said, trying to lighten the mood. Eren chuckled.

    "That was a shitty joke."

**  
  
**

    Eren opened his eyes slowly. This was the first time he had voluntarily woken up all week. He groaned. Maybe he should just go back to sleep.

    Eren sat up slowly, scratching his lower abs. After everything that had happened, the fact that he still had to go to school depressed him. But he couldn't skip twice in one week. Mikasa would surely kill him. So he got out of bed and once again searched the floor for semi-clean clothing to wear.

   Mikasa was toasting herself a bagel when Eren dragged his feet into the kitchen and say down at the table. She looked at him in surprise. "Eren, you're up."

   "Don't remind me." Eren yawned.

   "You go from delinquent to model student so fast. I'm gonna get whiplash." Mikasa said, laughing at her own joke.

   "Shut up, Mikasa."

   "You want a bagel? We have cream cheese." Mikasa offered, reaching for the bag of bagels in the cabinet.

   "Nah, I'll take cereal." Eren stood up and fixed himself a bowl of cereal. He drained the last of the milk into his breakfast.

    Mikasa sighed. "Now we need more milk..."

    Eren gave Mikasa a withering look. "It's better than the milk going bad," he pointed out, annoyed. "Today's the expiration date."

   "One day after the expiration date doesn't mean it's already gone bad, you know..."

   Just then Armin came in. "Good morning, Mikasa! And Eren, you're up?"

   Eren rolled his eyes, taking his cereal over to the table. "Yeah, yeah, I'm turning into a model student, I know."

   Armin's eyes got wide at that. Mikasa laughed. The toaster dinged and her bagel popped up. Mikasa grabbed it and spread some cream cheese over it really quick before stuffing it into her mouth and pulling on her jacket.

   "I'm leaving now!" she announced between mouthfuls of bagel.

   Armin checked his watch. "You're getting an early start today," he observed.

   "I'm moving into a new office today," Mikasa said with a wink. "I need to move all my stuff before everyone gets in. Bye!"

    "Take care!" Armin and Eren said at the same time. The door shut, leaving them alone.

    Eren could feel the air between them get awkward as Armin fidgeted in the corner of the corner, trying to decide what to say to him. He sighed.

    "Armin, I'm sorry."

     Armin held up his hands. "No, that was my fault! I knew you had just had the same fight with Mikasa, and I should have handled that better as your friend. You didn't need us ganging up on you like that."

    Eren smiled ruefully. Armin said that, but Eren knew deep down that those two ganging up on him was exactly what he needed. With a stubborn guy like Eren, it was the only way to make him learn. He hated how Armin was so willing to be the "bad guy" role for him all the time. He should learn to take others' words to heart without all of that being necessary.

     "Just let me apoligize," Eren said, looking at Armin. "I'm sorry you have such a difficult best friend."

    Armin smiled warmly at Eren. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Now hurry up and finish eating so we can get to school!"

    Eren chuckled and obliged.

**  
  
**

    

    The doors of Shiganshina High came into view. Eren and Armin had spent the journey to school sharing relatively easy conversation on unimportant topics, but one thing was bugging Eren.

    "Did your grandfather totally chew you out?" he asked suddenly. Armin looked at him. "I know you were at my place with Mikasa, waiting for me until really late."

   For some reason, Armin started blushing. "A-Actually, it's not your fault. Grandpa would have been mad either way..."

   Eren's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

   "Armin!!" called an all too familiar voice. Eren rolled his eyes. _Here we go again..._

   Jean came running up to join them. He smiled sweetly at Armin, practically glowing with happiness. Eren found it unbelievably annoying.

   "Hey, Jean..." Armin greeted him, but something was off. Armin was staring at his hands and blushing. Eren narrowed his eyes.

   "Armin? What's going on?" he questioned.

   "What, you mean you haven't told him yet?" Jean asked Armin. Armin shook his head.

    Eren's heart dropped. He whirled on Armin. "Told me what..?" he asked in a low voice. "Armin?"

    Armin looked up at Eren, his big blue eyes pleading. _Aw man, not that look. This can't not be good._

    "Eren, listen, I was going to tell you, I swear! The night before yesterday, Jean texted me and said he had to tell me something important and that I should meet him! I was gonna tell you I was planning to meet him all along yesterday, but then you ran away after that fight with Mikasa and I didn't knoe what to do... And then Jean told me to go to Mikasa because he knew that you were important to me, and then Mikasa told me to go see what Jean had wanted and... And well..."

    Somewhere in that explanation Jean's fingers had become interlaced with Armin's. Eren staggered back. This could not be happening...

    He missed school for one day, and Armin starts dating _horse face_?!

**  
  
**

    "I think you're overreacting," Connie told Eren during lunch break. He was one of Eren's few friends at school outside Of Armin. The other students of class 104 all chattered at their desks around the two, going about their day. Eren groaned; his day, however, was ruined.

   "Yeah," Sasha agreed, stuffing potato chips in her mouth. She was always eating chips, even during class. Sasha's only concerns were with the track and field team and eating.

    Connie and Sasha both sat close to Eren and had approached him on day one, both intrigued by his standoffish manner and bad mouth. Now the three of them made up the class 104 misfits: Connie was the class clown, Sasha was always being sent into the hallway for eating her lunch during lecture, and Eren was the class's bad boy.

   "If you ask me, those two are perfect for each other," Connie continued. "I mean, Jean is the Student Body President and Armin is the Vice President, for starters. They spend practically all their time at school together. And not to mention Jean's tragic break up with his first boyfriend, Marco. That messed him up real bad, I heard. Anyone would want to set him up with a nice guy like Armin."

   "Connie, that's just it, I didn't ask you." Eren said, glaring. Connie just shrugged.

   "I wonder where their first date will be..." Sasha said, a dreamy expression on her face. "Jean is the son of the mayor, so I'm sure it'll be some five-star restaurant."

   "Why do I get the feeling that you are thinking about the food more than the date?"

   Eren ignore them both, putting his head on his desk. Normally he would be eating lunch with Armin as well, but he had run off with Jean to who knows where. Was it always going to be like this at school from now on?

   "Lunch is over! Straighten up your desks!" yelled class 104's home room teacher, Mr. Shadis. Eren really couldn't stand this guy. Mr. Shadis was the main reason he stayed in so much trouble at school all the time.

   Armin and Jean ducked into the classroom behind Mr. Shadis, slinking back to their seats. Eren glared at Jean. _First he takes him away from me during lunch, and now he's almost getting him into trouble?!_

   Eren knew he was being childish about Armin's new relationship, but he didn't care. Truth be told, he knew about Jean and Marco, maybe more than anyone else in this school. Eren had always paid special attention to Jean in school, partly because he wanted to avoid all interaction with the guy, but also because in a way he knew that Jean was similar to him. They were both hot-blooded guys, and yet Jean had managed to control his emotions and focus on studying. Eren wanted to know how he did it, so out of the corner of his eye, he had alway watched Jean. He had watched Jean become friends with Marco, good friends, and then fall in love. He saw how much Marco's absence had affected Jean, even seen him break down behind the bleachers once when he was skipping class. No one knew just how deep Jean's feelings had been for Marco as well as Eren did. And that's why he was hesitant to give his best friend to a guy like that. Was it even possible to move on from something like that?

**  
  
**

   Eren had to run to work right after school, so when Armin apoligized about not being able to walk home with him, he only felt slightly betrayed about it.

  "I'm really really sorry about this! It's just that-"

   "It's fine, really," Eren interrupted, sighing. If Armin begged any more, he's start to feel like an ass for being hurt by it. "Go have fun with your... boyfriend." Oh man, he hadn't been ready to say it. Eren felt like there was a bad taste in his mouth.

   But the way Armin's eyes lit up made it worth the effort. He hugged Eren and after promising a dozen times that he would make it up to him, Armin ran off to meet Jean at the front gate. Eren smiled for the first time since hearing about those two. _Well, if horse face makes him that happy..._

    Eren looked at his cellphone and realized he was going to be late to work at this rate. And late to work he was, by fifteen minutes. Reiner regarded him with a cool gaze.

    "You knew the drill. Late workers have to restock." Reiner said, a victorious smile on his face. It was supposed to be his day to restock.

    Eren rolled his eyes and walked back out of the convenience store, realizing that "my best friend just got a boyfriend and has no time for me anymore" as an excuse just wouldn't cut it. He rolled up his uniform shirt sleeves and bent down to pick up the first crate of sodas.

   "Eren?" a small voice called to him uncertainly.

    Eren turned and almost dropped the crate.

   "H-Historia?!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after five chapters, I think I've finally mastered how to post stories to this website! Woohoo! Make sure to check out my other chapters for their subtle improvements in appearance. Or, you know, you can just tune in to re-read the chapters because they were just that good... Haha, I'm kidding! No, seriously. I was kidding. This story is okay at best. Still, thank you for reading!

    Historia blushed. "Aw geez, don't use my first name! I told you I prefer my middle name, didn't I?"

    "Ah, yeah... My bad, Krista." Eren stared at the petite blonde in shock. She was wearing the uniform of the city's elite all-girls' high school, Reiss Academy, which her father, the governor, had built a few years ago to secure his popularity in the polls. Historia had never liked all of the attention she received from her family name, which is why she went by her less known middle name, Krista.

   "How have you been?" she asked. "Have you been by to see Annie?"

   Eren tensed at the mention of Annie. "No, I haven't been by lately. Have you?"

   "That's actually where we are headed right now... Huh? Where's Ymir?" Historia looked around with a worried expression.

   "Right here, baby!" Ymir answered, appearing from behind Historia and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Did ya miss me that much?"

    Historia blushed. Eren rolled his eyes. He could only imagine how Historia could possibly deal with such a high maintenance girlfriend like Ymir.

    Ymir finally noticed his presence. "Well, if it isn't Eren," she said with an easy smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I see you're working hard now. Good for you."

    Eren bit back his retort. Ymir blamed him for what happened with Annie, and he couldn't exactly disagree with her; it was all his fault, after all.

    Historia looked back and forth between Ymir and Eren with a panicked expression. She had always been sensitive to other peoples' emotions. Eren forced a neutral expression onto his face.

    "Anyway, I have to get these on the shelves," Eren said. "It was nice to see you two. Have a good visit."

   "W-wait, Eren!" Historia said urgently. "I just wanted to tell you... There hasn't been any change in Annie's condition."

    Eren stiffened. Historia regarded him warily.

    Ymir made an annoyed noise. "Don't go treating her like she's dead, dammit! 'No change' is about as good as it gets for her!"

    Eren nodded, feeling relief course through him. So she was doing okay, then. That's good. But at the same time he felt conflicted. Was it a good thing that nothing at all had changed in over a year..?

    "Well, goodbye, Eren," Historia said. "You should come visit with us sometime. I'm sure Annie would like that."

    "Maybe." Eren answered evasively.

     Ymir tugged Historia's hand, pulling her away. Historia waved at Eren. He gave a small wave back, then turned away and took the crate into the store.

   "Took you long enough," Reiner said. "What was holding you up?"

   "Just some stuff," Eren muttered, setting down the crate and immediately going back outside for the rest. "Where's Bertolt by the way?"

   "He's holed up at home with the flu," Reiner drawled in a bored voice. "I hope I don't catch it. I hate being sick."

   Reiner and Bertolt were college students that lived together in a run down apartment complex. Eren nodded, going outside.

   He spent most of his shift restocking the store, grateful for the excuse of manual labor to avoid having any actual conversation with Reiner. The hours passed slowly. Eren tried very hard to keep unnecessary thoughts out of his head. Like why he even started working at this store in the first place...

****  
  


    "See ya, Reiner!" Eren said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

    "Hey, Eren," Reiner said from behind the counter. "Is something the matter, pal? You looked kinda down."

     Eren bad to stop himself from groaning out loud. Reiner was a good guy, but he severely lacked the ability to read the mood. Still, he meant well. Eren forced a smile. "I'm good, just stressed about my next English test. I've never really been good at the straight-laced life, you know?"

   Eren knew Reiner would back off with this explanation, being an ex-thug himself. He often told Eren about his delinquent days in high school and how Bertolt had straightened him out.

    Reiner nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I'm not much good in school myself. Don't let it get you down, Eren! If I can make it into college, somewhere is bound to accept you too!"

    Eren laughed uneasily. "Yeah... Anyway, I had better get going."

    "Study hard!"

    Eren walked across the street towards The Wall Park, sighing deeply. Today had just been one thing after another. He definitely needed some time to think on his bench before he went home. The sun had long since set, but Eren didn't care.

     He passed through the Maria entrance, the streetlights starting to flicker on. The park was practically deserted with the exception of the occasional night jogger. Eren walked down the path that led to the clearing.

    At first, he was pissed. There was someone sitting on his bench, smoking. At the stranger's feet was a dog. Wait, dog..? The butt of the cigarette illuminated him momentarily, revealing Levi's face. Eren stood there, staring. What was Levi doing here?

   Sensing a presence, Levi's eyes flicked up and caught sight of Eren. His expression didn't change and he kept smoking. Eren walked over and sat down next to Levi, keeping some distance between them.

   "What are you doing here?" Eren asked, breaking the silence.

   "I should be the one asking you that, brat," Levi replied. "It's way past your bedtime."

  "I don't have a bedtime!"

   Levi smirked. "Sure you don't. That's why you were running home at full speed."

   Eren blushed, recalling what had happened last time. "I-I wasn't running _full speed_..." Levi continued to smirk. "A-anyway, you're avoiding my question!"

    "Is it so wrong for me to be walking my dog?" Levi questioned. "And then I stopped to sit and take a smoke. Happy?"

    "Why did you pick this bench, though?"

    Levi raised an eyebrow. "Do you have some special claim to this bench, brat? Last time I checked, all benches at the park were available to sit on."

    Eren hung his head. What was he expecting? For Levi to say that he sat on this bench because it reminded him of Eren or something? How stupid could be get?

   "What are you doing here so late anyway?" Levi asked, holding his cigarette close to his lips. Eren wondered why he smoked so much.

   "I come here to think."

   Levi regarded him quietly before looking away. "Well I'm glad you don't just come to this park to beat the shit out of strangers."

  "That was _your_ fault!"

  "How the hell was it my fault? Last time I checked I was saving your sorry ass from being charged for assaulting police officers."

  Eren's eyes popped. "Wait, what?"

  Levi crushed his used up cigarette under his foot. "Those two work weekend shifts doing security for Trost Tech. But on weekdays I assure you they're bonafide members of the PD."

  Eren knitted his eyebrows together, thinking back to that night. So, if Levi knew that, then that beating was him protecting Eren..?

    Levi saw the smile start to spread across Eren's face and he frowned. "What's that look for, brat? Creepy."

    Eren's face soured instantly. Levi was such an ass. "Nothing."

    "Why do you get so angry?"

    Eren glared at Levi. "Where the hell did that come from?" he asked sharply, suddenly defensive.

    Levi shrugged. "I was just curious as to where all that anger you have bottled up was coming from. You got something to be that mad about?"

    "Look, you don't fucking know me, okay?" Eren said, his hands balling into fists. "That's none of your business!"

    "I saved your ass from sure jail time, brat."

    "Yeah? Well you aren't the first." Eren spat out. "Get in line if you have a complaint."

    "No complaints." Levi said with a smirk. "Just curious."

    "Well don't be. Bad things happen to curious people." Eren didn't want to think about that hospital room where she was laying, eyes closed as if she was just sleeping. But those eyes haven't opened in over a year. _Annie..._

    Levi looked at Eren close his eyes as if remembering something painful, and he wondered if he had pushed the kid a little too far that time.

   Rover started to bark, pulling at his leash.

Levi looked down at the dog and he whined. "What do you want?" Levi asked in an annoyed voice. Instead of answering, Rover tugged even harder on the leash, breaking free of Levi's grasp and darting into the trees.

    "Rover!!" Eren called in a panic, but the dog didn't return. "Rover, here boy!"

   Levi made no move to call the dog. Eren looked at him in exasperation.

  "You're not going to try to call him?"

  Levi pulled another cigarette out of his pocket. "That damn mutt can go where he pleases."

   Eren rolled his eyes. He already knew it, but this man really wasn't an animal person. _This is definitely why he needs me._

   Eren almost shocked himself when he thought that. Somewhere inside of him, Eren had already decided that he was going to work for Levi. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind. Eren wondered for a moment if he should be worried about how easily his decision had been made. Was he expecting something to happen between the two of them?

    Rover came back in full speed, carrying a stick in his mouth. Eren smiled; so he just wanted to play. Eren wrestled the stick from the dog's mouth and threw it back into the trees. Rover barked happily and chased eagerly after it. Levi watched this little game of fetch in silence for a moment before speaking up.

   "Eren."

   Eren looked up, surprised and slightly happy to hear his name come from Levi's mouth. "Yeah?"

   "Come to my place this weekend."

Eren blushed. Oh yeah, he was _definitely_ expecting something to happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep telling myself not just post stuff whenever I feel like it because I should have some kind of structure or whatever with my posts, but I finish a chapter and I get so excited about it that I just have to post it! I'm really sorry, but on the bright side, it's at least better than waiting months to read the next chapter right? So here's another chapter, and in case you're wondering, no, it isn't the weekend for Eren and Levi yet! You'll just have to wait for that chapter, lovelies!

  The weekend couldn't come fast enough. Only two days separated Eren from seeing Levi, and he swore that they were going by slow on purpose. He was a bundle of nerves all day. Armin, sitting next to him at lunch, laughed.

  "Okay, I gotta ask. What are you so antsy about?" he asked, eyeing Eren.

  Eren avoided his gaze, opting for his best innocent face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Come on, Eren! Something's been up since yesterday. What are you so excited about?"

   Ereb faltered. He was never good at hiding things from Armin in the first place. But seeing as he hadn't even told Mikasa yet that he was going to be that guy's dog sitter anyway, Eren wasn't sure if he should spill the truth to his best friend or not.

  "He's probably just all beside himself waiting for the weekend to come," Jean said, coming over to where Eren and Armin were. He handed Armin a sandwich from the cafeteria and a Diet Coke, taking a chair and dragging it over to Eren's desk to join the conversation.

   Eren made an annoyed noise, but it was half-hearted. Even he was starting to get used to horse face's near-constant presence around Armin at school. They were practically glued by the hip. Eren figured he might as well deal with it; he got Armin most of the time at home anyway, to help him through his homework.

   "Mind your own business, Kirschstein." Eren snapped. _Even so, that doesn't mean I have to tolerate hearing his voice._

   "So I'm right, then." Jean said, grinning in triumph. "You're going to that party this weekend, aren't you?"

    "What party?" Armin asked.

    "The Reiss Academy girls are throwing a birthday bash for one of the seniors at her house. It's supposed to be fucking crazy 'cause the girl's parents left for the weekend and she lives in the nice part of the city, where all the members of the Sina Country Club live."

   "Oh, that sounds awesome!" Armin exclaimed. "Are you going, Eren? No wonder you're excited!"

   Eren's eyebrows raised. This could actually be perfect... "Y-yeah, that's where I'm going. Sorry I didn't tell you, Armin."

   Armin touched Eren's arm and moved in closer, dropping his voice. "It's okay. You probably didn't want to ask me because of Jean, right?"

   Eren just gave a quick nod.

   "Hey, what are you two whispering about?!" Jean demanded. "If you're asking him to go to that party with you, Yeager, you can forget about it! He's going on a date with me this weekend!"

  "Yeah, yeah, I don't need the details." Eren said dismissively.

   Armin blushed, confirming Eren's suspicions that there were in fact details. He didn't try to keep the disgust off of his face.

   "Hey, what's this I hear about a party?" Connie asked, walking towards them with Sasha in tow. She was, as usual, stuffing her face full of potato chips.

   Eren rolled his eyes as Jean filled him in. He never partied with Connie. Armin was the only one he could trust to stay with him the entire night and not to go blabbing about what happened to anyone. Mikasa had ears everywhere, and if so much as a rumor of him being seen anywhere got out, she would immediately know. Connie never shut up; Eren would've gotten found out in no time with this loud mouth near him on the weekends.

   Eren's eyes widened. _But wait... Isn't that what I want this time? Mikasa knows what I do on the weekends; like this she won't question me if I'm gone. And I'll even have witnesses!_

   "Yo, Connie, what time are you guys planning on heading to that party?"

****  
  


    "It's unusual that you'd voluntarily make plans with Connie and Sasha," Armin noted as they walked out of school. It was the end of the day. Jean had to meet with some teachers after school about the student council and Bertolt had taken over Eren's shift for the day since he had been sick, so Armin and Eren were walking home together. It had been a couple of days since they had last done this and Eren was happy about being able to walk home with his best friend again, but he wasn't sure how he was going to keep Armin in the dark for the whole journey. Armin was really sharp in times like these.

   "Well, I figured since my best friend won't be around much anymore, I should start finding some other people to party with." Eren said. _Alright, I'll go for the guilt trip route._

   Armin didn't even bat an eyelash. "Whenever I couldn't make it before, you'd be fine with just going on your own. So what changed this time?"

   Shit. This guy was good. Eren bit his lip, thinking. Was there anything he could say?

   Armin watched Eren squirm next to him and smiled. Of course, he had already seen through Eren's whole plan at lunch. But Armin wanted to know if Eren would share his "secret" with him or not.

   "Listen, Armin..."

   Armin looked at Eren. His expression was conflicted. Armin smiled ruefully. "Eren."

   Eren stopped what he was going to say. "Wh-what is it?"

   "Don't worry about it."

   "Wha-"

   "Anyway, did you hear Mr. Shadis earlier? We have a test next week." Armin said, walking a little ahead of Eren and spinning around to walk backwards. He grinned widely at Eren. "Need help studying?"

    Eren hesitated. Then he smiled back. "You know I do."

     _Thank you, Armin._

    The two talked about pointless things the rest of the way home, Eren laughing at Armin's stupid attempts to make jokes. They walked up the steps to Eren's apartment, Eren feeling relieved that he had a great friend like Armin.

    "I'm home!" Eren called, unlocking the door and walking inside. Armin took off his shoes and jacket at the front before following Eren into the kitchen. "Mikasa?"

    There was a note on the kitchen table from Mikasa, apologizing about not being able to take care of dinner because she had been suddenly called back into the office for a few hours. There was a twenty dollar bill to   order pizza with.

     "Armin, you wanna stay for pizza?" Eren asked, opening the fridge to see if there were any drinks to go with the pizza. There was no answer from behind him. "Armin?"

     Eren turned around and froze. Armin was looking at his cellphone, eyes wide and bulging. He wasn't breathing. Eren ran over and shook his shoulder.

    "Armin! Armin, what's wrong?!" Eren snatched the phone from Armin's shaking hand and reading it. "Shit..."

    Armin had started crying at some point. Eren pulled him into his chest, practically crushing Armin against him. He looked down at the text message on Armin's cellphone again, willing the words to change.

    The message was from Armin's neighbor, who had heard a crash come from his house earlier in the afternoon and went over to investigate. The back door was unlocked with flower pots littering the path, evidence of Armin's grandfather having been doing some gardening. The neighbor ran inside the house and found Armin's grandfather collapsed at the bottom of the steps, a ripped bag of potting soil covering his body. He must have fallen getting the soul from the second floor. The neighbor had called the ambulance and rushed Armin's grandfather to the hospital, but it was too late. The old man had snapped his neck and died on impact.

     Armin's grandfather was dead.

    The next day was the funeral. It was a small service, consisting of just Armin, Eren, and Mikasa. No one said anything. The only sound in the funeral home was of Armin's soft weeping. He clung to Eren's arm with trembling fingers. Mikasa stared at the black coffin that held Armin's grandfather with a pained expression. This old man was the last remaining parental figure she had; the only one left who knew Eren's parents besides the three of them. And now he was gone.

    Eren tried to keep himself in check. Armin had lost his grandfather. He had to be a supportive friend to him today. But every cell in his body wanted to destroy something. Eren wanted to get angry. He wanted to scream and cry at the sky, maybe run away and never come back.

    "Eren." Mikasa said in a warning tone. She laid a suppressing hand on his shoulder. "Don't."

    Mikasa knew from when his mom died how Eren dealt with death.

   "I'm fine," Eren muttered. "Why don't you worry about Armin instead of me for a second?"

    Mikasa narrowed her eyes, hurt by Eren's words but trying not to show it. Eren sighed. He would have to remember to apologize to her later. Eren couldn't trust his emotions today.

    "Are you folks ready for the burial?" the undertaker asked, coming into the room.

   Eren and Mikasa looked at Armin. He gave a small nod, straightening and letting go of Eren's jacket sleeve. The undertaker nodded back, signaling to the other funeral house workers that it was time. The coffin was lifted and carried outside. Armin followed, holding his head high.

    Once they were outside, the coffin was being lowered into its grave. A lone figure was standing near the site. Eren squinted, wondering who could possibly be standing there.

    It was Jean.

    Eren let out a slow breath. "This isn't the time, horse face. Run along home."

    Jean ignored him, walking straight to Armin. Before he could protest, Jean wrapped Armin into his arms. "Armin, why didn't you tell me about your grandfather's funeral?" he asked, kissing Armin's forehead fervently.

    "J-Jean-!" Armin exclaimed. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

   "What am I doing here? Where else would I be? Armin, I'm your boyfriend! It's my job to be there for you, especially when you're hurting like this!"

    Jean looked into Armin's large blue eyes with affection. He smoothed Armin's hair into place with gentle fingers. "I know we just started dating," he said in a low voice. "But that doesn't mean you should hesitate like this with me. I mean, you've already helped me get through the hardest time in my life. I was an absolute wreck when Marco left. You were the one who saved me from that. I owe you my entire existence right now. So, let me at least comfort you when you need it."

    Armin didn't even realize he had started crying. Jean touched his forehead to Armin's, intertwining their fingers together.

    Mikasa and Eren watched the couple from a few feet away. Mikasa smiled fondly as she watched. Eren couldn't tell what he was feeling. There were too many emotions churning in his chest to sort them out.

    After the funeral, Armin and Jean walked ahead, holding hands as they did so. Armin's cheeks were still stained with year tracks, but he smiled anyway. Eren had to admit that no one but Jean could have done that. Maybe he would have to accept Jean after all...

   "Guys," Armin said suddenly, turning to address Mikasa and Eren. "I'm going to stay at Jean's house this weekend. I'll move in my stuff on Sunday."

   Until Armin figured out what he was going to do, it was decided that he would stay in the spare room in Mikasa and Eren's place. He practically lived there most of the time anyway, so the lack of change would probably be nice.

   "Okay. Have fun." Mikasa said without hesitation. "I'll only be at work in the morning, so we can move everything in that afternoon."

   Eren turned without a word and headed home. Armin was about to say something, but Mikasa gave him a look and then silently shook her head. Armin nodded and allowed Jean to walk him away. Mikasa followed after Eren's quick steps with ease, letting him fune by himself. Once they reached the apartment, Eren immediately shed his jacket and went straight to his room, shutting the door with more force than necessary. He looked around his dirty room with disgust and collapsed onto his bed.

    "Eren..?" came Mikasa's voice through the door. "Eren, do you want to eat dinner?"

    "Not hungry."

    "...okay." Mikasa's footsteps faded away.

    Eren's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and squinted against the glowing screen. Levi had texted him. Eren's heart thumped. Then he cracked a smile, remembering what he had changed his name to in his phone.

**My Asshole Boss (SENT 09:56 PM):** Be at my place at 9:30 tomorrow morning. The address is 844 Castle Rd.

    Still an asshole, even when texting. Eren read the message a couple of times before tossing his phone to the floor. He let out a sigh, his smile fading as soon as the glow of the phone screen dimmed.

    Eren smashed his pillow in his face and willed himself to sleep. Maybe if he slept through this tangle of emotions, in the morning they would be gone. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his mind of all thoughts.

Everything except those gray eyes, staring at him with disinterest.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided that I would update this story every other Friday! So that's about twice a month. I think that will give me enough time, between school and my job. Sadly, I can't write as freely when it isn't summer break. But oh well! Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! I believe we are moving closer and closer to things heating up with Eren and Levi... I hope you're as excited as I am! I'll see you in two weeks!

   Mikasa sipped on her tea. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, wrapped in her red blanket. The TV was on, but she didn't hear the sounds coming from it at all. Mikasa sighed; she had definitely been using this blanket too much lately. What a stressful week...

   The door to Eren's room opened and Mikasa's head snapped up. He was dressed to leave, with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Mikasa's heart dropped.

   "Eren? Where are you going?" Her voice sounded high-pitched and needy to her own ears.

    He wouldn't look at her. "I'm going to a party later tonight."

    "Tonight? It's eight in the morning!"

    "Yeah. Yeah I know." Eren's voice sounded hollow. "But... I've gotta get out of here for a while. I'll be back, I just..."

    He didn't finish. Eren walked past where Mikasa was sitting without so much as a glance and opened the door. Mikasa hurriedly stood up, setting her tea down on the table.

    "Eren!" she called.

     Eren stopped. He slowly looked back at her. Mikasa stared at those large green eyes that held so much uncontrolled anger that she could swear crimson was leaking into his irises. His forehead had a still healing wound on it from God knows where; Mikasa had noticed it days ago and kept her mouth shut, hoping fervently that whatever had happened had been enought to vent his frustrations. Apparently it hadn't. That saddened her heart.

     "Come back safe."

     Eren nodded, once. He left. Mikasa slumped back onto the couch as soon as the door shut. She had taken the day off of work just in case Eren needed her, and now that he was gone, she didn't know what to do with herself for the entire day. Mikasa let out a dry laugh; her whole life was lived around Eren. When he was gone, she felt like she had no purpose. She supposed something was wrong with that, but she didn't care.

     "...please come back safe, Eren."

     Eren groaned. He really hated lying to Mikasa like that. She had been really worried about him. But he really had to go and forget about everything happening at home for at least today. Eren looked at the map on his phone to make sure he was getting on the right bus.

    He wasn't.

    An hour and a half later, he arrived at the fanciest building he had ever laid eyes. The architect that designed where Levi lived must have had a thing for castles, because that's what it looked like. The lobby was old fashioned in design, with towers surrounding it. Eren hasn't paid attention the last time he was there, but it was really had to miss in broad daylight.

   Eren assumed that the tallest tower was where Levi lived. When he asked the lady in green at the desk, he found out that he was right. He also found out that Levi must not have a lot of visitors, because her eyes almost bugged out of her head when he mentioned Levi's name.

  He made his way to the Tower C elevators. Eren rode up fifty floors in nervous silence. Who in their right mind liked to live this high up? Eren didn't mind heights that much himself, but as a person who could never afford to live somewhere with more than two floors, he couldn't fathom being this far up all the time.

  The elevator dinged and Eren stepped out. There was just a hallway and a single door on the other side of the automatic doors. Eren remembered that Levi was the only person who lived on his floor. He must be in the right place then.

   Eren rang the doorbell. No answer. He waited for a few minutes, but there was still no answer. Puzzled, Eren tried the door and discovered that it was open. He poked his head inside and looked around the plain white walls, wondering if he should just walk in or not.

   "Levi?" he called.

   He didn't hear a reply, but he did hear soft jazz being played further in the condo. Eren followed the music down the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

   "Levi?"

   Eren turned a corner and stopped dead. He had come into the living room and kitchen area. As was Levi's standard, everything was white and spotless. The furniture was white, the walls were white, and the appliances were chrome. It was almost creepy how clean and devoid of any color everything was. A radio sat atop the kitchen counter, playing the jazz radio station.

  But it wasn't the room that had stopped Eren in his tracks. No, it was the sight of the man lounging on the balcony across from the living room that had him gaping. Levi was leaning with his elbows on the railing, smoking. He was staring intently at the view from the balcony, seemingly deep in thought. And while Eren was sure the view from fifty floors up was pretty great, he doubted it could compare to the beautify view he had right in front of him. Eren walked towards on slightly shaky legs towards the sliding doors to get a better look.

   Levi noticed his presence and looked back. When he caught sight of Eren, he glared. "It's about fucking time you showed up. Do you know how long I've been waiting?" he demanded.

  Eren licked his lips. "Uh, thirty minutes?"

  "Can you not read plain English? My text said 9:30. Not fucking 10:00."

  "Sorry. I took the wrong bus." Eren said, shrugging.

   Levi smashed his cigarette into a nearby ashtray and walked back in. "Well thanks to your piss poor map deciphering skills, I'm late for work."

  "You could have just left, you know. The door was open anyway." Eren pointed out.

  Levi looked at him. "And let some brat come into my home without telling him the proper ways to treat it? Are you insane?"

  Eren shrugged again, looking around. Everything really was very clean and organized. He felt dirty in comparison. "So, I'm guessing don't touch anything then? Not that there's much to touch anyway."

  "You're damn right there isn't. I don't believe in unnecessary shit." Levi said. He started walking away and Eren followed. "First thing's first, don't wear your dirty ass shoes in my home."

   Levi pointed to a row of slots for shoes at the entrance of the condo. In each slot was a pair of slippers. He gestured dismissively at Eren's shoes. Eren took them off and put on the slippers. He immediately felt stupid.

  "That all?" Eren asked, already annoyed.

  Levi smirked. "Next, when you get food in my home, make sure you wash your damn hands for at least thirty seconds first. I don't need your germs on my food."

   Eren nodded.

   "Everything you need to take care of Rover is in his room. That includes food, water, toys, and whatever. I expect you to take him out twice today."

   As Levi said this, he put on his jacket. He was dressed smartly in a charcoal gray business suit and pale yellow tie. Eren tried hard not to stare at the way the fabric pulled tight in all the right places. He was going to remember everything that Levi was saying and not mess a single thing up, if only just to rub Levi's nose in it.

   Then a thought occurred to Eren.

"What do you do for a living?" he asked Levi suddenly. From the expensive condo and the tailored suit, Eren was sure it must be a pretty important job.

   Levi pondered how best to answer that question. "Let's just say that I help a company make decisions. I'm an advisor."

   "What does that even mean-"

   "Last thing," Levi said as he opened the door, cutting Eren off with a smirk. "Don't touch anything, brat. Or I'll have your ass."

   Eren knew there wasn't any hidden meaning behind those words, but he blushed anyway. Levi smirked, satisfied, and shut the door with a click.

  Left alone, Eren set off to find out which room was Rover's room. He opened three doors before finding the right one. Rover laid on his dog bed in the far corner of the spacious room, sound asleep. There was no furniture in the room besides a simple counter and cupboard that were obviously built for the single purpose of preparing Rover's food. Chewed dog toys lay scattered across the floor. Eren smiled fondly at the resting hound.

  "Rover! Time to get up, buddy!" Eren called. Rover's ears perked immediately and he sat up. Upon spotting Eren in the doorway, the dog bounded off the bed and jumped straight into Eren's arms. He toppled over, laughing loudly. "I'm glad to see you too, boy!"

  Eren scratched under Rover's ears, contemplating what they would do all day together. He could already feel his emotions settling a little; today was bound to have a calming effect on him.

   It happened around noon.

   Eren and Rover had spent a leisurely morning together, eating breakfast and playing with the toys in Rover’s room.. Then Eren had decided it would be nice to go outside for some fresh air. He put Rover on his leash and they left, headed for The Wall Park for a walk. There, the two walked almost the entire circular path inside the Maria entrance before stopping at the fountain clearing for a break. Eren was overjoyed to find his bench unoccupied and happily sat down. Realizing that he had not been able to relax here in quite some time, Eren closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. His grip on Rover’s leash loosened, if only a little bit. The dog noticed the slack and took full advantage of it, breaking away from Eren’s hold completely to chase a squirrel that had been mocking him. Eren immediately jumped up to call Rover back, but it was too late. The dog ran for the squirrel and missed, instead jumping into one of the surrounding flower patches. The dog was covered in potting soil, but it didn’t end there. The squirrel ran towards the fountain and Rover ran after it, hot in pursuit. The dog jumped… and missed again, landing right in the fountain. As Rover barked, annoyed by his defeat at the hands of the squirrel, and passersby laughed, amused by the antics of the dog, the blood drained from Eren’s face as the soil turned into mud on Rover’s fur.

    _Oh shit. Levi is going to fucking murder me._

    

    Eren burst through the door, carrying a very dirty Rover in his arms. He looked around frantically, trying to assess his next move. The immaculate condo stared back, its gleaming white interior only further assuring Eren of his death sentence. He groaned. Why the hell does everything have to be so clean?!

   “Okay, Rover,” Eren said. “We’re going to take this nice and slowly…” _Aw, man. You know it’s over when you start talking to the damn dog._

   Eren got an idea suddenly, and gently put Rover down. He removed his shirt and wrapped it around the dog’s torso. That would take care of any mud dripping onto the floor. Eren took off his shoes and put on the slippers before picking Rover up again. He inched onto the carpet, his heart pounding in his chest. Eren had never been more scared in his life.Not even when Mikasa had caught him shoplifting a skateboard that one time when he was in middle school. Eren made his way successfully to the bathroom down the hall and hurriedly dumped Rover into the bathtub. Rover barked and whined in protest.

   “Sorry, buddy, but I’ve gotta get you clean before your master shows up, or I’m dead meat,” Eren explained apologetically. He knelt next to the tub and turned on the water. Rover immediately started barking louder. “Woah, boy, calm down! Rover!”

   The bathtub didn’t have nozzles, but instead had a single shower head with a hot and cold switch. Eren stared at it dumbfounded for a minute before shrugging; he’d never understand the rich. He flipped the switch to hot and water sprayed at his face in a jet stream. Eren dropped the shower head in surprise and it continued to spray, dancing around the bathroom. Eren was drenched in no time. Rover barked, trying to escape his bathtub prison and the spray of water.

   "What the hell?!" Eren exclaimed, grabbing for the shower head. He slipped and fell twice, but eventually caught and turned off the offensive device.

   Eren looked around the wet, dripping bathroom and groaned. _Levi is so gonna kill me. And then he's going to bring my dead body back to life to clean up the mess._

   He washed off Rover's fur and thoroughly dried him off with a towel before putting the dog back into his room. Then he returned to the bathroom and got on his hands and knees to wipe up all the water.

   "Fuck, I'm so screwed," Eren muttered to himself as he worked. "I don't even know where this clean freak keeps all his supplies..."

   "That would be in the right cabinet over there."

    Eren froze. His back was to the door, but he knew all too well who that condescending voice belonged to. Eren slowly turned his head and immediately wished he hadn't.

    There Levi stood, looking sexy as all hell with his suit jacket along over his shoulder and the sleeves of his shirt pushed up. His tie was loosened and a few buttons were undone, revealing part of a muscular chest. Eren swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly very dry.

    "W-welcome home?"

    Levi smirked at him, gray icy eyes sparkling with controlled rage. "Care to tell me what the _fuck_ happened to my bathroom, brat?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So remember that thing I said about not overloading the site with new chapters as I write them and that I would actually update on some kind of schedule? Well, I lied. I was getting really into writing this chapter, and then I even wrote the next chapter, and I was sitting in my bed going "I have to wait how long to update this story?" Yeah, no. I'm updating whenever I want. This is for fun anyway, and it's not like I have that many people banging on my door, telling me to slow down with my updates and whatnot, so why not?   
> Anyway, enjoy this next chapter. I finally got all smutty, which could be a good thing... I hope. I don't know, this is my first time doing this, and I'm not at all passionate or romantic, nor is my alter ego, Eren, so we shall see what you guys think! (Please don't hate me.)

    _Okay, Yeager. Choose your next words very, very carefully. They could be your last._

    Levi looked pointedly at Eren, crossing his arms. "Well? I'm waiting."

     _Shit, he's mad. Shit, okay, I need to say something. Shit, I'm so screwed. Shit shit shit..._

    Eren wet his lips. "You're really hot when you're angry, you know."

    _...what did I just say?_

    Levi stared at Eren in surprise. Then he abruptly turned and walked away. Eren scrambled up and followed him.

    "Levi! I'm really sorry, I-I didn't mean to say that! I was just distracted, I mean, scared 'cause you looked super pissed and, uh, I don't know why that slipped out..."

    Eren followed Levi into his room. Levi threw his jacket onto the bed and loosened his tie all the way, taking it off and placing it next to his jacket.

   "Should I just go..?" Eren asked in a quiet, defeated voice. He had really blown it this time.

    Levi ran a hand through his hair, pushing his bangs back. He sighed heavily. "I wasn't going to do this today... I fucking wasn't going to..." he muttered.

    "You weren't going to... what?" Eren was getting confused. Had he been planning to fire him this whole time?

    Levi crossed the room in two smooth steps. He grabbed a fistful a of Eren's hair and pulled his lips down to meet his own. Eren opened his mouth in surprise and Levi took that chance to slip his tongue in, deepening the kiss. Eren almost groaned with pleasure, grabbing Levi's waist to pull him closer. He smelled like soap and cigarette smoke, and he tasted amazing.

    Levi broke the kiss so that he could bite Eren's bottom lip. Eren whimpered, needy. Levi continued to bite further down, to his chin and then to his neck. Eren could feel the sensation of each bite travel through his body like static electricity. Every cell in his body was suddenly alive.

    Eren tentatively moved his hands up to feel Levi's hair. It was soft, just like he imagined it would be, and silky smooth. When Eren reached up to smell it, Levi chuckled a little.

   "Shit, I told myself I wouldn't do this yet," Levi said between nips at Eren's neck. "I just kicked the living shit out of you not even three days ago."

    "S'okay," Eren mumbled, almost slurring his words. His mind was fuzzy from the sudden onslaught of desire. "It healed already."

    They began to stumble backwards, toppling on the bed with Eren on top. He closed in on Levi's mouth again, wanting to taste him. Levi ran his hands over Eren's chest, going lower and lower until he got to his jeans. With expert hands, he unbuckled them and Eren shook out of them. Levi slid a hand into his underwear and took hold of Eren's thick arousal.

   "Ah..!" Eren's head snapped back.

   "Oh, no you don't," Levi chided, pulling Eren's head back. "Get the fuck back over here, brat."

   Eren obeyed, going to work at Levi's neck. He slid his tongue over the crook of Levi's neck between his collar bone and shoulder blade and began to suck. Meanwhile, Levi started to pump his hand over Eren's cock, teasing his thumb over the tip before sliding all the way down over and over again. Eren could feel himself starting to build up to the peak.

   "L-Levi, I'm gonna..."

   "Yeah, I know."

   Eren shuddered his release all over Levi's hand. He collapsed on top of Levi, satisfied. Levi patted his back.

   "This is why I can't stand teenagers. They're so quick." he said. "Get off me, brat."

   Eren gripped Levi, keeping him pinned. "It's your turn." he growled, feeling challenged by the teenager comment.

    Levi raised an eyebrow in amusement. "What's this? Do you have some magical sex skills that I don't know about or something?"

    Eren shrugged, trying to play off that he had no such thing. "Maybe."

    "Then by all means. Go ahead."

Levi spread his arms wide, inviting Eren in. He grinned stupidly at the prospect of getting to play with the body he had been fantasizing about for the past week.

     Eren unbuttoned Levi's shirt all the way, almost ripping it off of him. He removed Levi's belt and pants next, fumbling clumsily with the buckle. Once Levi was naked, Eren hesitated. What was he going to do?

    "What's next, brat?" Levi asked with a smirk.

     Eren glared at him, determined to impress this arrogant asshole. He crawled on his knees between Levi's legs and took his full length into his mouth before he could talk himself out of it. Levi's head immediately snapped back and he groaned in pleasure. Feeling triumphant, Eren began to move in and out, licking his tongue up and down Levi's cock.

    "Ah, fuck, that's deep..." Levi groaned, panting a little. "Shit..."

    Eren nibbled the tip and then caressed it with his tongue. Levi was a twitching mess beneath him, hands grabbing at the sheets. Eren was filled with a heedy emotion at the knowledge that he was the one doing this to Levi. He propped himself on his elbows and continued his sweet torture.

    "Fuck, I'm gonna cum, brat. Move your mouth." Levi said urgently. But Eren didn't let go. "What the fuck?"

    Eren just increased his tempo. _Go ahead and cum, old man. We teenagers are pretty resilient._  

    Levi came, hissing through clenched teeth. Eren braced himself and swallowed. He wiped the corner of his mouth and smiled at Levi. "How's that?"

    Levi glared at him. "Go wash out your fucking mouth right now! And brush your teeth too!"

 

    Eren pulled on a clean shirt and sighed. The shirt was Levi's and a bit small on him, pulling at his chest. He put on a pair of too small boxers and looked at himself in the mirror. He immediately wished he hadn't. He looked unbelievably stupid.

    After demanding that he brush his teeth about five times to make sure they were clean, Levi had made Eren take a shower while he put his clothes in the washing machine.

    Eren dried his hair and sighed again. Usually after doing something like that with someone, wouldn't they lay in each other's arms and have pillow talk or something? This turn of events was not what Eren had in mind for afterwards.

    "Levi, I'm done..." Eren called, coming out of the bathroom. Levi's room was empty.

    Eren wandered the condo, looking for Levi. He found him in the guest bathroom, scrubbing the bathtub. He had a scarf on top of his head that tied his hair back and a face mask on, with yellow rubber gloves on his hands and a clear poncho covering his torso. Eren blinked; was all that really necessary to clean a tub?

    Levi stood up and climbed out of the tub, surveying his job with a deep frown.

   "Uh, I think it looks pretty clean." Eren said. Levi turned to look at him.

   "'Pretty clean' is not all the way clean. This is why you're a brat." Levi didn't even look back as he said this.

    Eren rolled his eyes. How did he keep forgetting that this guy was an asshole? _Well, it might have something to do with those blinding good looks... And the fact that his hand was just on my dick._

    "Yeah, yeah." Eren left the bathroom and walked into the living room. He sat on the couch and rested his head on a pillow cushion, closing his eyes. The couch was so soft and plump, just like the ones from the furniture store. Eren suspected that it felt like that because Levi never had people sitting on the couch. he didn’t seem like the type to have visitors.

    Eventually, Levi wandered into the living room as well. Eren looked up, happy to be relieved of his boredom. He gave Levi a lazy smile. "Is your bathroom clean enough for you?" he asked.

    Levi looked at Eren, unamused. Instead of answering, he walked over to where Eren was sitting and pushed Eren’s legs apart so that he could sit in his lap. Levi rubbed his butt against Eren’s crotch and leaned back until his head was resting on the boy’s broad chest. Eren immediately blushed. Levi smiled innocently at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, playing innocent.

    Eren glared at him. “You are such an ass.”

    “What about my ass?” Levi rubbed his butt against Eren’s crotch once more, and Eren almost lost it right there. This man didn’t play fair at all!

    “If you were gonna do this, then why did you make me take a shower..?”

    “Because you did something dirty.”

    “And this isn’t dirty?” Eren demanded. Levi was now moving against him in a slow, agonizing motion. His breath hitched.

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

    “Yes, you do!”

    “Well, maybe I do… and maybe I don’t.”

    As much as Eren was enjoying the friction Levi was providing, he didn’t think he could take much more. Levi must have sensed this, because all of a sudden he turned around. Eren gasped at suddenly being face to face with those beautiful gray eyes. Levi really was beautiful to look at, but there was just something about his eyes that Eren especially liked. They were cold and hot at the same time, like an icy flame. Eren could feel his pulse start to race. Unable to resist, he leaned forward and quickly pecked Levi’s lips in a clumsy kiss that was mostly teeth.

    “Was that supposed to be a kiss, brat?” Levi asked, smirking.

    “Sh-shut up,” Eren muttered, knowing he had messed that up badly. “It’s your fault for staring at me like that.”

     Levi kissed Eren then, forcing his mouth open so that he could slip in his tongue. Eren moaned against his mouth. Levi didn’t let go, kissing and sucking. When their mouths parted, a line of saliva still connected their tongues. Levi licked it off of Eren’s bottom lip.

     “That’s how you kiss someone,” Levi said. “And try not to drool so much, geez.”

     Eren nodded his head in embarrassment.

     “Good,” Levi said, smiling a little in satisfaction. Eren’s eyes got wide. “What the hell are you looking at?”

   “You… smiled,” Eren said in disbelief. He clutched a hand at his heart. “I don’t know why, but it makes me really happy when you smile. Like, my chest just swelled!”

   Levi stared at him. “The fuck is that supposed to mean? You say some really embarrassing shit, you know that?”

   Levi got off of Eren. He stretched a little and walked into the kitchen. Eren watched him from the couch, wondering what was wrong with what he had just said. It was the truth after all. Levi opened the fridge and inspected the food inside.

    “You in the mood for tacos? I have ground beef and hard shells,” Levi called from the kitchen.

    “Yeah, that’s fine.” Eren’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He really was hungry. It had to be already past lunchtime. A thought occurred to Eren just then. “Hey, Levi, didn’t you only head to work a few hours ago?”

     “Hm.” Levi was busy taking vegetables out of the fridge.

     “So did you only have to be at work for half the day then?”

     “Hm.”

     “Levi, answer me! Did something happen at work?”

     Levi put the lettuce into a strainer and started to wash it thoroughly. “No.”

     “Then why were you back so early?”

     “I leave whenever I want.”

     Eren was getting confused. Leave whenever he wanted? What exactly did Levi even do at his job? “What kind of job just lets you leave whenever you want to?”

     “My job.”

     “Sounds nice. Wish I had a job like that…”

     Levi chuckled at that. “You don’t seem like the working type.”

     “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Eren demanded, getting annoyed. “I have a job.”

     “Do you? That’s surprising.” Levi started to chop the lettuce.

     “What’s so surprising about it?”

     “The way you fly off the handle all the time, I just can’t picture you being able to keep a job.”

     “What the fuck do you know?!” Eren was mad now.

     Levi looked over at Eren calmly. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about, brat. Do you always yell the minute someone pisses you off?”

     “No!”

     “Actually, you just fucking start hitting them don’t you? I mean, who just punches strangers?”

     “I _told_ you, that time wasn’t-”

     “Wasn’t what? Wasn’t your fault? Yeah, because that explains everything. Last time I checked, the one who throws the punches is the one who gets punished.” Levi looked at Eren with a knowing gaze. “Believe me, I’ve argued my case plenty of times.”

     Eren deflated a bit at that. He stared at his hands, balled into fists. “I… I don’t know why I did that. I heard one of those bastards say your name and I just… lost it.”

     Levi finished chopping the lettuce and moved on to the tomatos. “Yeah. You seem to do that.”

     “I’ve been a lot better about it! That was the first time in almost six months that I’ve hit someone, I swear!”

     “Counting, huh? That’s definitely not healthy.”

     “...Screw you.”

    “I’d rather eat.” Levi was putting the ground beef onto a frying pan. The sizzle of cooking meat filled the kitchen. “What are you so angry about, anyway?”

    Eren looked out the window. “I didn’t have an answer when she asked, either.”

    “Who?”

    “Annie.”

    Levi flipped the ground beef over. He watched the meat start to brown on the pan. “Should I ask?”

    Eren almost laughed at that. “Now you’re being considerate?” he asked.

    “I’m always considerate. You’re the one making me out to be an ass.” Levi pointed out.

    Eren rolled his eyes. “I figure you’d just ask me about it even if I said I didn’t want to talk about it, right?”

    “No, I’d let it go.”

    “I don’t believe you.”

    “That’s your choice.”

    Finished making lunch, Levi brought the plates of tacos over to Eren. He handed him a plate and sat down across from the couch. Eren stared at his food and didn’t say anything for a while. Levi stared at him, waiting. Then Eren sighed and started to talk.

    “It’s all my fault. That Annie got hurt.”

Levi listened to Eren without interruption as he told him about what happened. Eren stared at his hands the entire time he talked, starting from the very beginning.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so as I said before, posts are back to being random again. Haha, I survived on a "schedule" for like a week, that's just sad. So, this chapter has a bunch of deep past shit and is full to the brim with Annie angst, if any of you readers out there are Annie fans. Have fun!

_**Seven Years Ago** _

    Eren hit the mat hard, the wind knocking out of him. He coughed and felt tears coming on. Eren quickly rubbed his eyes. _No way am I gonna cry in front of her!_

    Annie stood opposite where Eren had been thrown, her face unimpressed. She tightened the black belt holding her gi together while she waited for him to stand up again. “Are you done yet? That’s already the fifth time I’ve thrown you. Other people are waiting their turn, you know.”

    Her arrogant attitude always succeeded in pissing Eren off. She wasn’t even older than he was! How dare she talk all high and mighty like that, just because her dad owned the dojo and she was already a black belt. She was still a kid, just like he was. And he was determined to knock her down a few pegs.

    “Not yet!” he said, standing back up.

    “Eren, don’t…” Armin whined from off the mat. “We have to get back soon.”

    “Shut up, Armin!” Eren snapped. They still had time before they needed to be home. He was determined to walk out of this dojo with a black belt this time.

    “Maybe you should listen to Armin,” Annie said. “Not that I mind kicking your butt again if you want.”

    Eren glared at Annie. “This time for sure, I’m gonna win!”

    He took a stance and got ready to charge, but someone stepped in between them. It was Mikasa. She advanced on Eren and punched him right in the gut, sending him to his knees.

   “Eren, I told you a million times, we have to be home by six! What time do you think it is right now?!” she demanded, folding her arms.

   Eren pouted at her. “It’s not six yet…”

   “No, it’s fifteen minutes ‘till six! Go get changed and let’s go already! We’re gonna be late!” And with that said, Mikasa walked off the mat to wait outside for him.

   “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Annie said, also stepping off the mat.

   Eren and Armin went into the locker room to change. Other students mingled in, also getting ready to leave after an afternoon of training. It was almost summer vacation, so the days were getting longer; the sun still hadn’t even set. Eren sulked as he changed his clothes. Surely they could stay a little bit longer..?

   "It's okay, Eren." Armin said beside him, smiling a little. "You'll definitely beat her tomorrow."

   Eren glared at Armin. "If Mikasa wasn't such a jerk, I would have beaten her today! It's not like anyone's even at home right now, so why do we have to be there?!"

   Armin shrunk back, tearing up. Eren let out a breath and put a soothing hand on Armin's head. "Sorry I yelled," he muttered.

   "S'okay..." Armin mumbled, sniffing and wiping at his eyes. He was such a crybaby all the time that Eren felt this need to protect him. Armin was his best friend after all. Eren wanted to make sure that he just kept smiling and reading books without a care in the world.

   But Eren was never going to be able to do that if he couldn't even beat Annie. Mikasa was already a black belt, yet he was still one step away. It frustrated Eren to no end.

   _Next time, I'll beat her for sure!_

  There was no next time. The next week, Annie's father suddenly closed down the dojo. He had been called overseas to fight in the recent war, and Annie was going to stay with her relatives. The news came without any warning.

  Eren ran to the dojo once he found out, determined to find Annie and challenge her one more time before she left. Once he reached the dojo, the lights were still on and the door was slightly ajar, so he walked right in.

  What Eren saw stopped him in his tracks. Annie and her father were on the mat, sparring. Eren could feel their sharp focus from across the room. Annie went all out, attacking her father with every move that had defeated Eren easily in their past matches. But her father deflected them all easily as if he were swatting away a fly. Finally, he grabbed Annie's arm and pinned her mercilessly to the ground, twisting her arm as he did so. Annie cried out in pain.

   "Remember this pain, Annie," her father said harshly. "The world will try to inflict pain like this on you over and over again. Remember this pain clearly so that you'll never want to feel it again. There will be no one else to help you fight this pain. You are alone in this world. So become strong enought to fight by yourself."

    Eren didn't understand what Annie's father was saying to her. Annie nodded once at her father, and he released her.

   "Now stand, and fight me."

   Annie took a stance once more and they began again. Eren left. He wasn't sure how long Annie fought her father like that for. The next day, he walked by the dojo as usual after school, but the dojo was empty.

   

   Eren didn't see Annie again until the summer before his first year of high school. He was sitting on the couch watching TV with Mikasa and Armin in what was then their new apartment when he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair flash across the screen. The channel was on a news report of a memorial service for all of the soldiers overseas who had been proclaimed dead after being MIA for more than a year. The screen filled with names and Eren saw the unmistakeable last name "Leonhart" on the list. Annie's face was zoomed in on among all the other faces of family members.

   "Isn't that Annie..?" Armin asked, voicing the suspicion that all three of them had.

   Mikasa nodded. "That's definitely her."

   "Then she must be back in the city. This is being aired live from city hall."

   "I wonder if she moved back into that dojo..."

   Eren said nothing. He stared at Annie's face on the TV intently. She was staring off into space, her blue eyes cold and distant as if the events unfolding had nothing to her.

   "Let's watch something else." Eren suggested, attempting to sound casual. Armin and Mikasa caught the false tone but they didn't say anything.

   The next day, Eren went to the dojo. He hadn't made the trip in years, but he still remembered where to go perfectly. The paint was a by faded and everything was dusty-looking, but it was still the same dojo Eren remembered going to everyday after school as a kid.

    Usually he would have gone through the sliding doors straight to the training room, but Eren went around to front door this time. He hesitated, but eventually knocked on the door.

     Footsteps sounded from the other side of the door and Annie opened the door. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw him. "Eren..." she said in surprise.

     He smiled, feeling awkward. "H-hey."

     Annie looked him up and down. "What do you want? The dojo isn't reopening, if that's what you want to know."

    "N-no, I... I saw you on the news, and figured you were back in the city..." Eren didn't know what to say.

    Annie's eyes narrowed. She regarded him with that same cold look he had seen on TV. It startled him. "Yeah. And?"

    "And... I was just wondering how you were doing, I guess..." Eren trailed off, suddenly feeling stupid for coming at all.

    "Look, I don't know if this is some kind of act of pity or whatever, but I don't need it." Annie snapped. "I've got some more boxes to move and some cleaning to do, so if you could leave now."

    No asking for help, no wondering what he had been up to, no friendly attitude. Annie's face gave away nothing at all. Eren was speechless.

    Annie shut the door in Eren's face, effectively ending the conversation. Eren left wondering what had changed her so much. But deep down, he kind of knew. It was the same thing that was beginning to change in him since his mom died and his father started acting strangely.

    From then on, they both entered high school. Eren and Armin were freshman at Shiganshima High School and Annie had passed the entrance exam for Reiss Academy. Eren would sometimes glance up and catch sight of Annie wandering the streets of the city by herself, wearing the school uniform. He never brought himself to call out to her though.

     Eren started out going to school regularly, but his attitude and demeanor would always catch the attention of someone who was bad news. Armin would get picked on as well, so Eren would end up reacting and beating the bullies to a pulp. He would get suspended and then to escape being lectured by Mikasa, Eren would pretend he was still going to school and then pass the time wandering around. It was then that he discovered that comforting bench at the park. Eren used  to spend hours sitting on that bench.

     Of course, there were even more thugs not in school than in school, so Eren would get into fights everyday. He was good at fighting, he had a sturdy body, he healed quickly, and above all, he was easy to anger. That made Eren a prime target. He gained more and more enemies until one day, Eren was targeted by one of the city’s gangs.

     He was passing time while school was in session like usual when he was cornered in an alleyway by about twenty other guys.

     “So you’re the bastard who beat up my little brother all bloody, huh?” the leader of the gang leered at Eren. He was holding up a bat with nails stuck into it. The blood drained from Eren’s face. These guys were serious about killing him. “Well, I don’t appreciate nobodies like yourself making a ruckus on my turf. Get him!”

     Eren easily dodged the first two guys who came swinging at him with knives and sent them both flying with a kick. He immediately ran through the gap he had created in the circle, trying to escape. The guys chased after him. Eren headed for the park, planning to hide out behind some bushes or something until all the excitement had died down and he could get home safely. Unfortunately it seemed that this was a very large gang, and soon Eren was being chased by more than fifty people. Things had escalated way beyond his control at that point.

    Soon day turned into night, and Eren still hadn’t made it home. He knew Mikasa was going to start to get worried soon, but he couldn’t risk these guys figuring out where he lived. So Eren started to flee near the highway, blending into the crowd on the sidewalk. His plan was to double back after a while and maybe catch a taxi back so they wouldn’t notice him.

    Before he could get very far though, Eren was spotted. Panicking, he started to sprint down the sidewalk, shoving people out of the way as he went. The gangsters ran after him from both sides of the street and they were closing in on him. In an act of pure desperation, Eren turned sharply and dashed through a store. He forced his way through the back entrance and burst through the door. Hearing the footsteps of his pursuers getting closer, Eren ran out into the street. A horn blasted and tires screeched. Eren was blinded by the flash of car lights. He squeezed his eyes shut… and heard a crash.

    “Ah, shit!”

    “This is bad news, man!”

    “Fuck, let’s just go!”

    Eren heard the voices of the gangsters as they bolted from the scene, not wanting to get caught by the police. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his body. He was perfectly fine.

    Eren looked in the direction he had heard the noise and his eyes widened. The car that had swerved to avoid hitting him had smashed straight into a telephone pole. Smoke billowed from the engine and it looked completely wrecked. The front window had a gaping hole in it; Eren noticed with a horrifying gasp that there was blood dripping from the jagged shards of glass. But the truly horrifying part was the body lying a little away from the car, unmoving.

    Eren approached the body with shaking legs. It appeared to be that of a girl, maybe around his age. He dropped to his knees beside her unsettlingly still body, unsure if he should touch her or not.

    “H… Hey… Are you alright? Hey…” Eren called in a strangled voice. “Hey!”

    The girl’s hand twitched once. Eren hurriedly turned her over onto her back.

    “It’s going to be okay! I’ll call someone right away, okay?! You’ll be-”

    Eren froze. He knew this face. He knew this blonde hair, matted with blood, and those blue eyes, struggling to stay focused on his face.

    It was Annie.

    Her mouth opened and she spoke between gasping breaths. “Er…en…”

    Eren started to shake uncontrollably. This was his fault. He had done this to Annie. Her eyes closed and her head rolled to the side. Eren vaguely heard the sound of sirens in the distance. Someone must have called…

    That was his last coherent thought before he was tugged away from Annie’s body by a medic.

    Annie was in a coma. She had other injuries, such as a broken arm and rib, multiple lacerations up and down her legs, and bad burns from skidding across the road when she plunged through the glass, but the worst by far was the deep cut to her scalp. The shock must have caused her body to shut down, resulting in her coma. Or at least, that was how the doctor had explained it to Eren over the phone. He had given his contact information to the paramedics on site at the accident, sure that Annie lived alone in that dojo and had no one in the city to list as an emergency contact. He had been right, too.

     Since there were no witnesses to the accident and Eren had been running from thugs, he wasn’t charged with anything regarding Annie’s accident. Eren accepted this, thinking that at the very least he would get a job and pay for Annie’s hospital fees instead. It turned out that wasn’t going to happen either, however. The car that Annie was driving was apparently a delivery car from the shop that Eren had ran through that night. She had been working there part-time to pay the tuition fee for Reiss Academy. Having a part-time job wasn’t allowed for the students of Reiss Academy, and when Annie’s accident was covered on the news, in order to save face, the governor made a public statement that Annie was one of the academy’s “special cases” and that her grades and earnest working attitude had made her exception to that rule. He even said that he would take care of all of her hospital bills and had her moved into a private room.

    Eren showed up at the hospital many times to visit, but he never made it past the front doors. Something in him always stopped before he could get himself to walk in. Around the third month after the accident, Eren made it as far as the reception desk. But as soon as the receptionist asked who he was there to see, Eren bolted out the door.

    He sighed, sitting on a bench on the sidewalk in defeat. _This makes the eighteenth failure. Geez._

    “Um, excuse me?” a voice said timidly. Eren looked at the source of the voice. It was a tiny blonde girl with large blue eyes. She fidgeted nervously in front of him, a bouquet of flowers in her small hands. “Sorry for suddenly asking this, but… are you the guy who always comes to see Annie?”

    Eren stiffened. The girl let out a small sigh of relief.

    “Oh, good. I would have felt so embarrassed if I had gotten that wrong.” she said in a friendly voice. She held out a hand to Eren. “My name is-”

    “Historia!” a harsh voice called from a little ways away. Eren recognized it immediately. He looked up and found he was right. It was the governor. He was standing with a group of photographers and reporters, probably making a routine visit to see his charity case to stay in favor with the people. “Get in the car now!”

    “Yes, Father.” Historia said in a meek voice, her head slightly bowed. She looked back at Eren. “Uh, if you don’t mind, I would rather be called Krista. And anyway, I just wanted to say that the nurses are always talking about you. How you always hover outside the hospital without coming in. So I figured you must be that guy who Annie avoided hitting during her accident. I just wanted to say that you should really go up and see her sometime. Bye!”

     Historia followed her father towards the car.

     Eren watched them leave, thinking the governor’s daughter was a weird girl. He saw her again, at the hospital. He was sitting on the bench, unable to go in again, when she approached him again, this time with another girl. This girl was about his height and built, with ratty brown hair lazily pulled back into a ponytail and wild eyes that seemed to dart everywhere at once. She was wearing the same uniform that Historia was wearing, so she must go to Reiss Academy. Eren wasn’t a sensitive guy, but he could tell immediately that these two were dating. Otherwise, why in the hell would she be wasting her time with an innocent girl like Historia?

    “This is Ymir, my… friend from school,” Historia hesitated on the last part, blushing. Ymir gave Eren a sly wink, confirming his suspicions.

    “Eren,” he said, holding out a hand to Ymir. She gripped it hard and grinned easily at him.

    “Yo! So were you dating Annie or something? Why are you too pussy to go inside?” Ymir asked immediately, plopping down on the bench next to Eren.

    “Y-Ymir!” Historia exclaimed. “You can’t just ask that!”

    “But, Annie didn’t seem like she was really into people, you know?” Ymir continued, ignoring Historia’s pleas. “She was a real bitch in school, never talked to anyone. Even when girls tried to approach her, she would just brush them off like they were bugs or something. I would always see her alone and stuff. Usually, I really like to mess with people like that, like with this one.” Ymir twirled a strand of Historia’s hair with her fingers. Historia turned red and swatted Ymir’s hand away. Ymir laughed lightly. “But this chick? She was on a whole other level. Like she liked being alone or something. I can’t imagine a girl like that in any kind of relationship. So, how do you know her?”

     Eren was silent. “...We used to train at the same dojo.”

     “Oh, so you two are just a pair of fighting freaks? Are you upset that your sparring partner is out of commision or something?”

     Eren made a face. This girl was really blunt.

     Ymir leaned back on the bench. “Well, whatever reason you’re feeling all guilty for, I’d say it’s a wasted effort. Ice Queen doesn’t do things for others. She’s the type to just take care of herself. If she didn’t hit you with her car, it’s ‘cause she didn’t want to. If she never wakes up, it’s ‘cause she didn’t want to. That’s all there to it.”

     Eren listened to Ymir’s and stood up. “You seem like you really know her, despite never talking to her before.” he said.

     “I never said I never talked to her before. And besides, it’s not hard to figure out. Me and her… We think the same, you could say. I also do what I want.” As if to prove her point, Ymir reaches out and grabs Historia around her waist.

     “Ah! Ymir!”

     “Let’s hurry up and see this bitch so that we can go on our date, Krista!” Ymir said, standing up and leading Historia towards the hospital entrance. “See ya around, Eren!”

Eren watched them go and sighed. He turned to leave. In the end, he never once went to see Annie in the hospital to this day.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Well I don't know about you guys, but school starts for me tomorrow, so I figured I would get this next chapter out before I start getting super super busy! Thanks for putting up with my erratic updating behavior, and I hope this chapter will appease everyone till the next time I deem y'all worthy of my valuable time... Just kidding! I would of course rather be writing smut about Eren and Levi than actually doing school work for once. Anyway, enjoy!

    Eren peeked up at Levi. He had stopped talking for a while, but Levi had remained silent. During Eren’s story, Levi had picked up the plates, washed them, and made some tea. He had brought out two cups on saucers and set one down for Eren before sitting back down with his own cup in that strange grip of his. Now that Eren was finished talking, he took a sip of his tea; it was mint flavored. Eren had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. it was so like Levi to serve mint tea after dinner. _He’d probably say something like “Because your breath fucking stinks, brat” if I said anything about it though…_

     “What are you over there smiling about?” Levi asked.

     “N-Nothing.” Eren wiped the smile off his face. “Anyway, that’s it.”

     “Hm.”

     Levi took another gulp of his tea. Eren was starting to get impatient, waiting for him to say something. Anything.

     Levi finally set his cup down on the saucer. He looked over at Eren. Eren tensed up, anxious for whatever Levi was about to say. “Hey, brat, when do you have to be home by?”

     Eren blinked. “Huh?”

     Levi sighed. “I’m sure that a minor like yourself has to have some kind of curfew. So when is it? I can drive you home if you need me to.”

     “Are you kicking me out?” Eren blurted the words out, dread sinking like a pit in his stomach. What, so now that he had watched his dog and given Levi his fix, it was time for Eren to go? Was he not needed anymore?

     Levi looked out the window. Sure enough, the sun was starting to set. It was almost seven now. Eren must have been talking for a long time. Levi stood up, picking up his tea cup as well. He gestured for Eren to follow him. Eren hurriedly picked up his tea cup as well. Levi left the dishes in the sink after rinsing them out. He then turned towards Eren, leaning his back against the counter with his arms crossed.

    “Don’t sound so beaten. I’m not ‘kicking you out’. I just seem to be the only one of us who is aware of the situation we are in.” Levi explained in a bored voice.

     Eren was confused. “Situation?”

     Levi rolled his eyes. “By situation, I mean the earlier activities that are probably grounds for statutory rape, considering our age difference.”

     Eren blushed. Oh, that.

     “So,” said Levi, continuing. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t lost track of time while you were telling me about your little friend.”

     Eren flinched at the mention of Annie. “Levi, about Annie…”

     “If you’re going to ask me whether or not it’s your fault that she’s like that, don’t.” Levi interrupted sharply, glaring at Eren. “I’m definitely not the one to look to for those kinds of answers. And if all that unloading was just so you could get some imaginary weight off your shoulders or something like that, I’m here to tell you that telling other people doesn’t change shit. She’s still in a coma. Nothing’s resolved.”

    Eren couldn't keep the shock off his face. He staggered back from Levi like he had been shot. Levi regarded him impassively, his face unchanged. Eren wanted to respond, say anything back, but he wasn't used to being laid bare like that. It was like Levi could see right through him. The only other person who could do that before was Armin.

    Levi sighed and turned back to the sink. "Look, if you want me to take you home now, I can do that. I had other plans for you, but..."

    Eren had grabbed the sleeve of Levi's shirt, causing Levi to trail off and look back. Eren was looking at the ground with a sheepish expression.

     "I... I don't have to go home yet..." he muttered in a rushed tone, almost biting his tongue. "I can stay longer."

     Levi studied Eren. "You're sure?" he asked again, taking Eren's hand that was gripping his sleeve. He intertwined their fingers, causing Eren's heart to beat rapidly.

He nodded. "Alright then. Let's go."

    Eren followed excitedly behind Levi as he walked back towards the bedroom. The room had been left alone, the sheets rumpled and pieces of Levi's suit still bundled on the edge of the bed. It was a wonder that Levi had left his own room like that; Eren would have expected him to have cleaned it by now. But then again, if he meant to come back...

    Eren started to blush.

    "What was that for?" Levi asked. He went into his closet.

   "Wh-what?"

   "I haven't even done anything yet. What are you blushing for?"

   "I-I am not!"

   Levi came out of the closet. Eren tried his best to hide his embarrassment. Then he noticed what Levi had in his hands. Levi was holding a black tie in his hands. They locked eyes and Levi smirked. He came to stand in front of Eren.

   "Put your wrists together like this." Levi instructed, demonstrating. Eren copied him, puzzled. "Good."

    Levi began to bind Eren's wrists together with the tie, tying it expertly in a complicated looking knot with ease. When he was finished, Levi tugged experimentally at the knot to make sure it was secure.

    "Tight?" he asked, looking up at Eren. He shifted his wrists a little and nodded. "Good. Now lie down on the bed."

    What? Eren looked at the bed and back at Levi. He wanted him to get on the bed like this?

    Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Sometime today, brat," he snapped and Eren scurried onto the bed. "Okay, now lie down."

    "Levi, what are you-"

    "Shut up. Just do what I say."

    Eren's mouth shut and he laid down on the bed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he couldn't deny he was curious to find out, so he figured he would just do what Levi said.

     "Put your arms up above your head and keep them there. Don't move them. Understand?"

    Levi's tone was serious. He was watching Eren's face with those icy gray eyes, unblinking. Eren involuntarily shivered. He nodded once.

    Levi suddenly straddled Eren on the bed. The youth jumped up in surprise, earning a smack in the head.

    "Ow, what are you doing?!" Eren demanded, trying to rub his forehead with his bound hands.

    "Don't move."

    "Why not?!"

    "We can stop too." Levi countered, tone low.

    Eren stopped at that. What was Levi planning to do? He didn't know. He had never been tied up in bed before. To be honest, it was making him nervous to be restrained like this. But at the same time, Eren couldn't deny the excitement bubbling in his chest.

    He slowly laid back down, putting his arms back above his head.

    Levi nodded approvingly. "Don't move again."

    Eren steeled himself, his body tensing under Levi. He was only being straddled at this point, but Eren could feel Levi's muscular thighs running against him. He was suddenly very aware of the size of the boxers he was wearing as he started to get hard.

    Levi reached for Eren's shirt and pushed it up, exposing his chest. Eren twitched at the sudden contact with the cold air. But his body felt hot. Levi ran both hands up and down Eren's mid section, fingers skimming across his nipples. Eren had to fight to keep his arms up each time he felt Levi encounter a nipple. He was starting to breathe faster. Then, Levi leaned down and gently licked one of Eren's nipples.

    "Ah, wha-!" Eren lifted his head sharply. His whole body shook violently and he concentrated on keeping his arms still above him.

   Levi ignored him, licking and sucking until Eren's nipple became hard. He made a circle with his tongue before going to the next one. Eren twitched and jerked below him, finding it hard to concentrate on anything. His arms shook. His breath became raspy.

   Levi lifted his head, tongue flicking out to catch the saliva falling from the corner of his mouth. Eren watched him with glassy eyes. Levi smirked.

   "You're super sensitive, brat." Levi commented. Eren blushed.

   "Th-that's... your..." Eren gasped, but stopped. Was that _his_ voice just now? He sounded so... horny. It was embarrassing.

    Levi raised an eyebrow. He reached into Eren's boxers and stroked his cock, once. Eren almost bucked off the bed.

   "So responsive."

   Eren bit his lip, refusing to reply and let Levi hear anymore of that totally lewd voice. Levi must have guessed at what he was doing, because he squeezed Eren's balls lightly next.

   "Ah!" Eren cried out in surprise. Levi took advantage of Eren's outburst and kissed him suddenly, shoving his tongue roughly down his throat. "Hmm..."

    Levi lined the inside of Eren's mouth with his tongue, sucking and licking. Eren couldn't form thoughts anymore. Levi was an amazing kisser. His arms raised slightly, desperately wanting to touch Levi's hair that was falling on his cheek. Suddenly pain lit inside of Eren's mouth and he was pretty sure he toasted blood; Levi had bitten him.

    "I saw that arm," he said simply. "Punishment."

    Eren probably should have been pissed, but he was too aroused. His body positively shuddered when Levi's deep husky voice said the word "punishment". He stilled his arms immediately, determined to please Levi. Levi chuckled.

    "Well, if you're that determined..."

    Levi tugged Eren's boxers all the way down, freeing his stiff cock. Before Eren had time to prepare himself, Levi started pumping his hand up and down.

    Eren's head snapped back and a serious of noises spilled out of his mouth that he couldn't decipher. Levi's cold hand on his pulsing member was mind blowing. He could feel himself coiling up and tightening, already close to the edge just from being touched like this. He could feel it, really feel it. His body burned where it touched Levi's skin and his hands itched to touch anything. They balled up into fists above Eren's head as he simultaneously resisted the urge whilst being pumped up by Levi. It was almost a painful pleasure that coursed through his body in overwhelming waves.

    "L-Levi, please..." Eren begged, but he didn't know what he wanted exactly. "I... I want to t-touch... you..."

    Levi kissed Eren again, still keeping a grip on his cock. He dragged his mouth away slowly, letting the saliva drip down Eren's mouth. It trailed down his chin, Eren being unable to wipe it off.

    "No."

    With just that one sadistic word, Eren could have spiraled over the edge right there. But all of sudden, Levi let go. Eren twitched violently, caught in the middle of an impending orgasm. Tears sprang in the corners of his eyes at the loss of that fabulous friction.

    "Wh-what..? Why..?" Eren demanded between gasps.

    Levi didn't respond. He propped himself between Eren's legs, positioning himself over Eren's cock.

    "Payback."

    Eren's eyes widened with realization. His pulse quickened. He was crashing down from the sweet spiral Levi had caused, but the second Levi took him into his mouth, Eren started to tighten right back up. He couldn't have prepared himself at all for the hot feeling of his cock inside Levi's mouth. Electricity poured through Eren's veins and his hips bucked, eager to fill Levi's mouth even more.

     Levi took Eren's full length into his mouth without much difficulty, but a quick smack to his thigh told Eren that he had better not do that again. Eren tried to focus on being still as Levi worked his tongue up and down his shaft, teeth lightly scraping the sides and nibbling at the top. Eren could feel himself starting to fall again and knew he wasn't going to be able to take any more of this sweet torture.

     "Levi... I'm gonna... I-I can't- Ah!" Eren tried to warn him first, but then Levi bit the tip of his cock and Eren felt his body stiffen. He came, a yelp escaping his whimpering throat. A small slurp sounded from Levi as he swallowed once.

     Eren relaxed into the bed, gasping. He realized that he was sweating a lot. The area where his wrists were tied by the tie was sore from all of Eren's relentless tugging at it. He couldn't focus his thoughts quite yet, but Eren was sure that was the best orgasm of his life.

    Levi got off of Eren and sat on the bed beside him. "Now we're even."

    Eren had a comeback in his head, but his mouth was too numb to form the words. Giving up, he turned his head to the side to stare at Levi's face. His bangs were fucked up from all the wild kissing, but other than that he looked perfect, sitting next to Eren without a care in the world. Eren was sure he looked like a mess. He was more than willing to jump into the shower again.

     Levi released Eren's wrists from the tie. Eren sat up, stretching his stiff arms. He pulled his boxers back on and tugged his shirt all the way down.

    "Come here," Levi said, grabbing Eren's hand. He led the youth into the bathroom and sat him down on the toilet seat. "Stay."

    "I'm not a dog." Eren scoffed, rolling his eyes.

    Levi ignored him, opening the medicine cabinet. He took out a bottle of peroxide and a cloth. Levi examined Eren's wrists. They were red where Levi had tied them, outlining in red exactly where the tie had been. Eren had even broken the skin from tugging against it.

    "Christ, brat," Levi muttered, looking at Eren's wrist with a frown. "I've never seen anyone pull on a damn tie that much."

    "It's no big deal." Eren muttered, blushing.

"It's just a scratch."

    He tried to tug his arm away, but Levi gripped Eren's arm and jerked it back. Levi poured some peroxide on the cloth and dabbed at Eren's wrist.

     "Even a scratch can get infected." Levi said sharply. Eren wanted to groan, but Levi's expression was so serious that he just rolled his eyes silently.

      Levi thoroughly cleaned both of Eren's wrists and then wrapped them in gauze. Eren protested at first, but Levi glared at him until he gave up. Eren looked at his bandaged wrists unhappily.

     "I look ridiculous!" he complained as Levi put away the peroxide and the cloth. "How am I going to explain this?!"

     Levi tilted his head to the side, thinking. "'I was trying out being tied up by my sexual partner, but it didn't exactly go well.'"

     "Be serious here!"

     "I was."

     Eren threw his hands in the air in disgust and left the bathroom. Levi followed him into the living room silently.

     "'I've just joined a cult'? Or maybe 'I entered a blood brotherhood'."

     "Shut the fuck up, Levi." Eren sat on the couch and huffed, annoyed. Levi sat next to him. No one said anything for a while.

      "You can remove it after an hour." Levi said in a low voice. "But you have to keep it on for a fun hour, you hear me, brat? A full hour."

      Eren looked at Levi. His face was expressionless as usual, but the corners of his eyes were right with worry lines. "Do these scratches really bother you that much?" he asked.

      Levi didn't say anything at first. "It's unsanitary to leave cuts open."

      "...It's a scratch."

      "Smartass."

      Outside, it was now completely dark outside. Eren was sure that Reiss Academy girl party had already started, but he didn't want to leave yet. He sank further into Levi's couch and got comfortable, scooting closer to Levi and daring to out his head on his shoulder. Levi stood up suddenly, causing Eren's head to hit a pillow.

      "Hey!" Eren protested, but Levi walked out of the living room. He felt a stab of pain in his chest. "Levi?"

      Levi came back just as quick, carrying a blanket. He sat back down and draped both of them in it, pushing Eren's head back down onto his shoulder.

      "I was fucking cold." Levi said. Eren chuckled. "Do you have a problem with that?"

      "No." Eren smiled at Levi. "I just remembered is all."

      "What?"

      "That you're an ass."

      Levi flicked Eren in the forehead. "Brat."

      They cuddled like that for the next hour.

      

      "I can take it off now right?" Eren asked impatiently. He checked the clock on the wall just to make sure he was right. Exactly an hour had passed. "I've got to go."

      Levi frowned and nodded. Eren eagerly ripped off the gauze and stood up from the couch.

      "Where are my clothes?" Eren asked.

      "The laundry room." Levi said. "First door on your left."

       Eren hurriedly retrieved them and went into the bathroom to change. His clothes smelled fresh and clean with a hint of heat lingering from the dryer. Eren slipped on his own underwear and out on his shirt and pants, happy to be back in things that fit him correctly. Next time, he would remember to bring a change of clothes.

      Wait. Would there _be_ a next time?

      Eren froze on the spot. The uncertainty gripped his chest, making it hard to breathe. He definitely wanted there to be a next time... but did Levi? Was this a one time thing for him?

      "You done yet, brat?" Levi asked, opening the bathroom door. He was carrying a bottle of lotion.

       Eren looked at him, a million questions one the tip of his tongue. Levi noticed his strange demeanor, but chose to ignore it.

      "Sit." he ordered, pointing to the toilet seat. Eren obeyed wordlessly. Levi frowned, but opened the bowl of lotion anyway. "Give me your hand."

       Eren lifted his hand and Levi slowly rubbed lotion on it. He moved up to Eren's wrist and gently smoothed lotion over the lines. He repeated the same process with Eren's other hand. The cool lotion felt good on Eren's skin.

       Levi touched Eren's wrists and his frown deepened. Eren pulled his wrist away and stood up. "That wasn't necessary you know. It's fine."

       "Hm."

       "Thanks anyway."

       "Hm."

       Eren walked out of the bathroom and towards the door. He put his backpack on his shoulder and looked back at Levi, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

      "You don't need a ride?" Levi asked.

      Eren shook his head. Levi nodded. He waited, but Levi didn't say anything. _I guess that's it then._

      Eren opened the door and left Levi's apartment.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, here I am again, guys! Things are starting to heat up between Eren and Levi, and I'm so glad. I just hope they don't kill each other before I finally get to my actual sex scene... Anyway, I am now deferring to all of my other characters because they have feelings and problems that need attention, too. There is more of the lovely Historia and her feisty girlfriend Ymir for all of you to enjoy, plus some Connie, some Sasha... I'm just going 104th squad crazy this chapter! Happy reading!

     Reiss Academy was located in the middle of the nicest part of the city, surrounded by nice sidewalks and shopping plaza and near the movie theatre. It was in this prime environment that the Reiss Academy girls went to school every day. They attended classes with girls equal in status and mannerism to them, were taught by the best teachers around, and studied with the latest textbooks. Maybe it was because of this ridiculous pampering that Reiss Academy girls threw the craziest parties in the city.

     Getting an invite was pretty easy, too; you just had to hear about if from someone. That’s why for a single night, every kind of city scum would walk from all parts towards the Sina Residential District and party until dawn.

      Eren dragged his feet towards the address that Connie had texted him, feeling his mood sink even further. When his phone had buzzed in his pocket as he left Levi’s condo, Eren had practically yanked it out of his pocket in excitement, only to feel his heart drop when he saw who it was from.

 **Connie (SENT 10:13 PM):** Yo man! You ready to party hard?! I forwarded the address to you, meet us there!

      Eren would have turned and went back home right there, but he didn’t want to spend the entire night moping around in his room waiting for some kind of contact from Levi. That just wasn’t his style. No, as bad as his mood was, going to the party was still the better option. So Eren shoved his hands in his pocket and continued walking.

     It was easy enough to tell where the party was even without following the map on his phone. A steady line of teenagers in jeans and tight clothes were pouring into the big two-story house on the corner, entering through the fence and probably going downstairs into the basement. Eren recognized a few of the faces from school. Some of them were already unsteady on their feet, probably having pre-gamed before coming out. Eren shook his head.

     Connie and Sasha were standing next to the curb. Sasha was wearing a pink crop top and overall shorts, her equivalent of a party outfit. Connie had freshly shaved his buzz cut and was sporting a new button up shirt, probably hoping to actually get laid tonight. Any other night, Eren probably would have laughed at his efforts.

     “Eren!” Connie called, waving. “Geez, what were you doing? We’ve been here forever!”

     Eren shrugged. “I wasn’t doing anything...”

     Connie squinted his beady eyes at Eren, but Sasha quickly pulled on both of their arms. “Both of you, let’s go already! We’re missing all the food!” she demanded in a pouty voice. Eren and Connie allowed themselves to pulled forward towards the party.

     The basement was dark, countless Christmas lights hanging from the walls providing the only light. A mini bar was set up in one corner, a large crowd swamping the two guys manning it trying to get some booze. Pop music blared from two large speakers. Between the speakers was a table set up with sound equipment by the DJ. Couches and chairs lined the walls. Eren made a beeline for an unoccupied couch in a corner while Sasha led Connie to the three long tables that were stocked with chips, salsa, candy, snacks,and little weiners. He settled down and sighed, letting his head fall back.

     Eren didn’t particularly like parties. He wasn’t a fan of the dancing or all the noise. But something about watching misfits like himself get drunk and do drugs without a care in the world put his mind at ease. Eren was a fuck up, and he knew it. But so were these people, and yet they could still be so happy. Girls that did nothing but sleep around with sleazy low lifes just to get a fix or some extra cash; guys that dealt all kinds of crazy shit to minors who didn’t know any damn better. Addicts, whores, thugs, punks… They probably hated themselves in the morning. They were probably just like Eren, not wanting to get out of bed and face the daylight and pretend to live a normal, good life with everyone else, trying to blend in and not be noticed by anyone. But then night would fall, and under the cover of darkness, these people would break out of their disguises and go wild, making the same mistakes all over again, that smile on their faces. Eren wished for that, too. He wanted to escape all of his feelings of guilt and regret like these people did every night in places like these.

     Connie spotted him and came over. He plopped on the couch beside Eren. “What’s wrong? Don’t feel like dancing?” he asked, yelling to be heard over the music. Eren shook his head. “Why not? It’s okay if you’re a bad dancer, you know. Some girls actually dig it! Like this one time, I was dancing with Sasha- n-not that I like Sasha or anything, okay? We were just dancing because we went to the party together and didn’t know anybody else. I swear! But anyway, I can’t really dance, and I tried to, and…”

     Eren tried to quell his irritation. Connie continued to yell right into his ear as the music seemed to get even louder, giving Eren a headache. He almost wanted to kick himself for asking to tag along. _This is exactly why I never fucking party with Connie. All he does is talk your damn ear off._

     Eren stood up suddenly, cutting off whatever Connie had been saying. “Where are you going?” Connie shouted, standing up as well. Eren’s mouth twitched.

     “Toilet,” he said simply and briskly walked off, praying that Connie wouldn’t follow him. Fortunately, he didn’t. Eren let out a sigh of relief. Any longer and he probably would have punched him right in the mouth.

      Instead of the bathroom, Eren walked towards the stairs. He sat at a picnic table in the backyard and looked up at the dark night sky. The view from Levi’s living room had been beautiful; they had been so high up that Eren could see the stars in the sky. Not from here, though. From Eren’s seat, all he could see was an empty sky. He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. Away from all the noise, thoughts began to creep into his minds. Thoughts of Levi.

       _He would hate it here._ Eren almost smiled as he pictured the disgusted face Levi would make at this kind of party. The same man who needed elbow-length rubber gloves just to clean a bathtub; he probably wouldn’t even make it down the first step.

      “Eren?” He turned and saw Historia walking towards him.

      “Hist- I mean, hey, Krista,” Eren greeted her. Historia sat down beside him. He should have figured that she’d be here. This wasn’t the first time they had run into each other on a weekend like this.Ymir and Historia frequented all the Reiss Academy parties, after all. It was one of the only places they could really be a couple in public.

      “What are you doing out here by yourself like this?” she asked with a tilt of her head. “Where’s Armin?”

      Eren smiled bitterly. “Same to you. Where’s Ymir?”

      “Oh, she already went downstairs to get some drinks,” Historia said, pointing towards the party. “So he didn’t come, huh?”

    Eren shook his head. “Nah, just me.”

    “Is that why you look so sad?” Historia asked suddenly. Eren looked at her in surprise. “Sorry to pry! It’s just you don’t seem that energetic, is all.”  
    They had become the most unlikely of friends, so it still shocked Eren when she read him like a book like that. It was almost on the same level as Armin, the way she could tell what he was thinking. “How did you..?”

    “Oh come on, Eren,” Historia said with a small smile. “You’re face is always showing what you’re thinking. You’re a really honest person.”

    _Me? Honest? Really?_

    “You were thinking ‘Me? Really?’ just now, weren’t you?” Historia guessed. She laughed at my look of alarm. “See? I told you.”

    Eren looked at his hands. “Armin has a boyfriend now. That’s why he’s not with me.”

    “Armin does? That’s wonderful!” Historia exclaimed happily. Then she gave Eren a worried look. “Are you feeling lonely?”

    “N-no!” Eren snapped. “This isn’t about me! Th-this is about Armin. I say ‘boyfriend’, but he doesn’t really know if they are going out now or not. I mean, they exchanged phone numbers, and he invited him over this weekend, and when he was over they… did some things, but then he was preparing to leave and just… nothing. He didn’t say anything as he left his place. He hasn’t texted or called or anything, either. So, Armin’s worried that they aren’t really in a relationship.”

    Eren waited nervously for Historia to say something. She sat in contemplative silence for a moment before looking up at Eren.

    “Is this Armin’s first boyfriend?” she asked. Eren nodded. “Well then, I understand his confusion. It’s nerve wracking to be in that undefinitive stage when you’re just starting out with someone. Basically, it seems to me that they’re both waiting for someone to initiate the relationship.”

     Eren blinked, confused. “What?”

     “You know, for someone to spell everything out. To define the relationship. Clearly they both like each other, if he invited Armin to his place and all of that happened. So, one of them has to make the first move.”

     Eren thought about it. _Does inviting me over mean he likes me? All he wanted was for someone to watch Rover. Unless that was just a ploy to get me over there. But would he really need an excuse? Levi kind of tells it like it is. Ugh, I don’t know..!_

      “Th-thanks, His-Krista. I’ll tell Armin.” Eren said, his thoughts still muddled. She nodded.

      “Krista, baby, look what I took when the stupid bartender boys weren’t looking!” Ymir called, walking up the steps from the basement brandishing and entire handle of vodka. Then she spotted Eren. “Hey, what’s up? Care for a shot contest?”

       Eren studied the bottle of vodka with a suspicious eye. This was a Reiss Academy party; that had to be a full bottle of high concentration liquor swishing around in Ymir's hand. He definitely wasn't a bad drinker, but this would certainly be a test of his endurance. But as much of a bad idea as this seemed, the thought of turning down a challenge from Ymir of all people made Eren grimace.

        "Let's do it."

        Historia's eyes got wide and she shook her head at Eren, but it was too late now. Ymir gleefully sat down across from him and poured two shot glasses to the brim. "This is the best! It's been a while since I've gone all out like this. Prepare yourself, kid."

       Eren's mouth set on edge. It always irritated him the way Ymir talked to him like she was so much older than him or something; she couldn't be more than a year older at most. And he was especially annoyed about it tonight because it reminded Eren of _him_.

       "Keep talking, Ymir. I'll make you eat those words."

       "What's this? Are we in an old action movie now? Have I dishonored you, sir?"

       "Just shut up and drink."

       Eren downed his shot glass. The vodka was smooth and crisp, almost like drinking water. Eren could take at least five shots of this no problem before he started to feel anything at all. _Yeah, but when this shit does hit me, it's gonna hit me hard. Fuck, this is such a bad idea._

       Eren hated being right. As he staggered home, his eyes barely focusing on the road at all, Eren regretted not refusing Ymir's stupid challenge in the first place. After a while, they had gained an audience, including a very loud and enthusiastic Connie. He had been right in Eren's ear, yelling a steady stream of what he must have thought was encouragement.

      "What, can't you drink anymore?! Down that glass, dammit!"

      "You're getting beat by a fucking girl, Eren! Is that even statistically possible? Don't you weigh more!"

      "If you're gonna puke, hurry the hell up and do it so you can get back and drink this!"

      Spurred on by anger, Eren had gone toe to toe with Ymir for about eight glasses. By the tenth or so glass, Eren was so drunk he couldn't even hear Connie's voice, let alone keep drinking. Ymir ended up finishing the rest of the bottle herself while Eren passed out cold on the lawn. He was later woke by Historia, who gave him a bottle of water to drink and told him that Connie and Sasha were still in the basement.

      "Ymir and I are about to go," Historia explained, giving him a concerned look. "Will you be okay?"

      Eren only nodded, thanking her in a slur for the water. He couldn't see himself moving for at least another half hour.

      Ymir and Historia left, leaving for Ymir's apartment, and Eren rested for a little while longer on the cool grass before unsteadily standing and deciding that it was time to go home, with or without Connie.

      Eren was beginning to regret his decision of just leaving without saying anything. Connie was annoying sometimes, but he was a good-natured guy. He was probably wondering where Eren had run off to. _And I could totally use someone's shoulder right now. Ah, man, the world is spinning..._

      Eren trudged along, his head feeling like the inside of a blender. His phone buzzed all of a sudden, causing him to stop and sit on a bench so that he could check his messages. It was probably Connie, asking where he was...

      Eren's heart thumped painfully. It was from Levi.

 **My Asshole Boss (SENT 1:32 AM):** Brat, you never told me if you got back home or not. Fucking text me back or next time I won't let you cum at all.

     In his drunken haze, Eren focused on the words "next time". Then... there would be a next time? There was a next time for them?

     Sitting on a random bench in the middle of the city, drunk off his ass, Eren stared at his phone screen and grinned like an idiot.

     "I'm home," Eren mumbled, closing the front door with a click. He was still really unsteady on his feet and he sounded like a stroke victim. And of course, he still had to face Mikasa after this morning. Shit.

     "Welcome back." Mikasa sat on the couch, watching some TV show with a stoic expression. She made no move to get off the couch or look at him. Double shit.

     "Mikasa..." Eren started to say, but she cut him off with a hand.

     "No, Eren, I don't want to talk. Not now, with you drunk like this. We can talk later. I just hope that whatever it is that had you gone all day is resolved and we can go back to me knowing where you are when you leave." Mikasa had her knees tucked on her chin and she was staring resolutely at the TV. Eren knew this stance. This was Mikasa's last defense.

       He wearily nodded and walked past the living room and into the hallway. Eren walked into his room and crawled into bed, kicking out of his shoes once he had snuggled under the covers.

       Mikasa deserved an explanation, and Eren knew that. But before that, he had to figure out exactly what was going on himself. Was Levi his boss, this guy whose dog he watched on the weekends? Or was Levi more than that? His text had said "next time"; could Eren hope for more with this guy? Or was he just some convenient teenager that Levi could fuck?

      Eren pressed his face into his pillow. He was drunk and it was late. He could think about all this shit in the morning. Eren sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders and sinking further into his mattress. Sleep came easily and willing, coaxed by the alcohol in Eren's system.

Eren dreamed of ties holding him down, pinning him to the bed, and those same indifferent gray eyes, regarding him while filled with lust.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers, welcome back! My day was just awful, so I thought I would end things on a good note and do something I love doing: updating my fanfic! This chapter was particularly fun to write because there's hungover Eren, there's good friend Eren, there's uncomfortable Eren... aaaand maybe just maybe there's also a new character. I've been waiting to introduce this one for quite a while so I'm super excited! If any of you have read my spin off series, then you probably know who I'm talking about, too. Well, let me not keep you in suspense; enjoy!

      Eren was awake, but he refused to open his eyes. He knew what was waiting for him the second he did, so instead he tried to bury himself even further into his covers, hoping that maybe the day would just pass him by like a train or a bus or something. Judging from the uncomfortable temperature of the room, Eren guessed it was early afternoon. The one thing that sucked about his room was the position of the window; it caught all of the daytime sunlight, making his room unbearably hot during the day. Still, Eren refused to move an inch. Even with his eyes squeezed shut and the covers providing darkness, he could feel the first pricklings of a major headache coming on.

      When the prickling became outright pain, Eren decided it was time to get up. He slowly rose into a sitting position, taking care not to jostle his head too much. He blinked and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes, squinting in the light. _I am so damn hungover… Man, today is gonna suck so bad…_

      Eren wobbled to his feet and pulled off his pants, feeling suffocated in the tight denim. He walked out of his room and towards the kitchen, sort of anxious about seeing Mikasa in this state. She had seemed really pissed at him last night.

      Turns out he didn’t have anything to worry about. When Eren got to the kitchen, it was empty. A box of cereal sat alone on the counter, still open, and a bowl with a spoon in it laid in the sink. Eren grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. He sank down into a seat at the table, wondering where Mikasa had gone off to. She didn’t have work on Sundays, did she?

      Eren drained the glass of water and stood to get another. His entire body ached and he could swear the inside of his head was pulsing. He was contemplating whether his stomach was up to handling a sleeve of crackers when the door opened suddenly.

      “Eren! You’re never going to believe this!” Armin yelled, rushing into the kitchen and setting his bag down with a loud thump.

      Eren winced at the ringing pain that sounded through his head. “Armin, fuck! Can you keep it down?”

      Armin sat down, eyeing Eren. “Woah, you sound like shit. Are you okay?” he asked. Eren gave him a withering look.

      “No, you ass. I’m hungover and my head is splitting in half, and you’re over here shouting and banging on the table and shit.”

      Armin ignored Eren’s tone and shot him a knowing smile. “So I take it you had fun at the party last night? Jean and I were thinking about dropping by, but it was too late to leave by the time we were finished-”

      “Hey, I do not need to hear about your sex life first thing in the morning.” Eren cut him off loudly.

      “It’s three in the afternoon.”

      “That’s beside the damn point!”

      “You’re so grumpy when you’re hungover.”

      “Whatever,” Eren grumbled, drinking more water. “So what’s up? I thought you were going to be with Horseface all weekend or something? Why are you here all in a rush?”

       Armin made a face. “I really wish you wouldn’t call him that.”

       “It’s a term of endearment.” Eren stated flatly.

     “In what world is ‘horseface’ an endearing term?”

     “Hey, he better be happy that I acquaint him with something as majestic as a fucking horse. As a matter of fact, I’m almost being insulting to the horses. I should just start calling him ‘shithead’ or ‘mcfuckface’.”

      “Eren…” Armin groaned.

      Instead of responding, Eren let his head fall with a clunk on the surface of the table and let out a groan of his own. “I feel like shit…” he moaned into the table’s surface.

      “Well anyway, I came over to tell you something!” Armin continued in an upbeat voice, completely disregarding Eren’s plight. “I got into the internship group interview at Trost Tech!”

       Eren stared at Armin, not sure what was going on. “You got the… what?”

       Armin rolled his eyes. “Come on, Eren, I told you about this ages ago! Trost Tech takes on new interns every year, but it’s very selective and only seniors can apply for it. I’ve been dreaming about this since last year, come on!”

       “Oh, yeah, that internship thing.” Eren said, scratching his head. “Congrats, man. That’s impressive.”

       Armin pouted. “You don’t sound excited for me at all.”

       “No, I really am.”

       Trost Tech was peculiar in that it hired strictly from its internship program. If you could survive working in the mailroom and delivering coffee for a two or three years, then you were basically guaranteed a job at Trost Tech. That being the case, the process of hiring interns was very convoluted. First, you had to been in your senior year of high school to even apply; apparently the CEO of the company, Erwin Smith, had personally requested the pool be limited to that age group, believing it to be the best time to mold new employees into exactly what he wanted for Trost Tech’s future. Second, the company ran extensive background checks on all the applicants, including looking up their grades, attendance, conduct, just about everything; hell, they even knew how many speeding tickets you had. And third, if the company found you worthy, they would contact you about the group interview; basically where all the prospects for the internship gathered and were evaluated by a hiring board. Out of maybe eighty or more applicants, about thirty were called for the group interview, and out of that thirty, only ten were hired on as interns. The competition was rough. But Eren had no doubt that Armin would get the internship. He had never seen a harder worker in his life.

     “So why aren’t you off celebrating with your boyfriend?” Eren asked. He had meant it as a joke, but Armin’s face immediately fell. “Armin?”

     “Well… Jean applied for the internship as well,” Armin said, eyes dropping to his hands. “And he hasn’t heard back. I haven’t really told him the news yet.”

     “If he really cares about you, he wouldn’t care about stuff like that,” Eren muttered. The upset look on Armin’s face made Eren want to find Jean and punch him in the face.

     “I know,” Armin said, attempting to smile at Eren but failing. His face fell somewhere between a smile and a grimace. “I know that, but… I just don’t want to tell him after all. I guess I’m just weak.”

      Eren put a hand on Armin’s shoulder. “You’re not weak, Armin. You’re just too nice for your own good sometimes.”

      Armin managed a weak smile at that. “I’m really not nice at all, though…” he responded, casting his eyes downward. “Despite everything, I’m still really happy I was chosen. And… even if Jean ends up never getting a call… I’m still happy.”

      Eren looked at Armin for a minute before suddenly standing up. Armin stared at him in surprise. “Eren..?”

      “We’re going out,” Eren said decisively. He winced slightly at moving so fast, but ignored the pain in his head and walked towards his room to put on some clothes. Armin followed after him uncertainly.

       “‘Out’? Out where? And hey, doesn’t your head still hurt?”

       “Food will make it better.”

       Eren ignored Armin and pulled on a pair do jeans from the floor. He walked around his room unsteadily, sniffing shirts until he found one that didn't smell too awful. _I have got to do my laundry one of these days..._

       "Eren, we really don't have to go anywhere... I was just venting a little bit. I'm fine now." Armin said in a panic. Eren ignored him, looking for the matching sock to the one he had found. "Eren!"

       "Armin, could you just shut up for a second? My head hurts." Eren complained. Armin's mouth snapped shut. "Now quit bitching and put your sweater back on. We're going."

       Eren put on his shoes and looked over at Armin, who had obediently put on his sweater. He flashed Armin a grin. Armin didn’t return Eren’s smile, regarding him with a wary look. Eren ignored his expression and left his room, not checking to see if Armin was following or not. He walked straight to the front door and opened it, grabbing his house key off the key ring. The sunlight hit his face and Eren instantly squeezed his eyes shut, feeling nauseous again.

       “Eren,” Armin began, but Eren shook his head at him.

       “Let’s go already,” Eren insisted, walking outside. He felt like absolute shit and the light made his head pound, but Eren ignored it. As bad as he felt, seeing Armin throw himself a pity party like that made him feel worse.

        “Where are we eating?” Armin asked once they had walked a ways into the city.

        Eren had been concentrating on blocking out his surroundings completely the entire time they had been outside, so he had no idea where he had even been leading Armin. “Uh…”

        He glanced up, wondering what places served good breakfast, when he spotted a familiar head of strawberry blonde hair further down the sidewalk. The person in question noticed him at the same time and smiled widely, walking over.

        “You’re that boy that came in with Levi that one night, right?” the woman asked excitedly. Eren smiled uneasily.

        “Y-yeah, um…”

        “Petra.”

        “Right, right, Petra. The food was really good.”

        “Well it better be! Mike works really hard on it.”

        Armin looked at the both of them with a confused face. Eren felt himself break into a cold sweat. _Oh fuck. I am so busted._

         “Who’s this cutie?” Petra asked, turning her smile in Armin’s direction. “Hi, I’m Petra.”

       She held out her hand to Armin. He shook it uncertainly. “My name is Armin…”

       “It’s nice to meet you, Armin! Are you a friend of Levi’s as well?”

       The dreaded question was asked. Eren panicked a bit, interjecting before Armin could ask who Levi was. “A-actually, they don’t know each other!” he said a bit too quickly. Petra blinked. “A-anyway, what are you doing here, Petra?”

       “Oh, right,” Petra said as if she was just remembering something. “I’m headed to work right now. My shift starts in about ten minutes.”

       “Does it? Well, don’t let us keep you…”

       “You should come by! Have you two eaten breakfast yet? Mike makes amazing omelettes,” Petra offered, taking Eren by the arm.

       “B-but…”

       “We haven’t eaten yet, actually.” Armin interjected. “Eren and I were just going to find a place to eat.”

       “Well, by all means! Let’s go!” Petra practically dragged Eren down the sidewalk, Armin calmly following.

       Eren’s heart sank. He could feel Armin’s eyes drilling a hole in the back of his head as they headed to the diner. Petra had them sit in a booth by the window as soon as they walked inside and ran to the back to put on her apron.

        The tall man by the name of Oruo walked up to their booth with a scowl on his face. "You again?" he scoffed, flipping his curly bangs out of his face.

        "Hello," Eren said, trying to keep the smile off his face. Oruo's mannerisms mirrored Levi's so perfectly, it could be a comedy routine.

        Oruo ignored his greeting and stared pointedly at Armin. "Well, you're not Levi," he said, his face a mixture of relief and disappointment at that fact.

        "Who?" Armin questioned, looking over at Eren. The blood drained from his face.

        "Ah, um, O-Oruo, can I get some coffee?" Eren asked loudly.

        Oruo sighed and went to get Eren his coffee without another word. Eren tried to focus his eyes on anything but Armin as they waited in an uneasy silence.

        "Eren..."

        "Sorry to keep you waiting!" Petra announced, coming back. She pulled out her notepad from her apron pocket. "What'll ya have?"

        "Ah, yeah," Eren said, picking up the menu to look at the breakfast section and finding that his stomach was already feeling a lot better. "I think I'll have the special, with extra bacon."

       Petra nodded and looked at Armin. He skimmed the contents of the menu briefly. "May I have the omelette?"

        "Okay, got it! I'll be right back with that, and Oruo! They don't have any coffee yet!" Petra yelled towards the kitchen.

        "Well, what do you want me to do about it, Petra? The damn coffee maker only runs at one speed you know!"

         Petra rolled her eyes. She stalked back towards the kitchen to continue arguing with Oruo, leaving Eren and Armin alone again. Eren drummed his fingers nervously, eyes wandering about. Armin watched this for a minute and sighed.

         “Eren.”

       Eren reluctantly looked up. Armin met his eyes square on, silently not letting him escape. “What’s up..?”

       Armin opened his mouth to say what was on his mind, but his eyes flicked up for a second and froze, staring past Eren at the door. Eren turned around to check out what had Armin so shocked. A man had walked into the restaurant alone and sat at a small table near the window. He was impeccably dressed in a dark gray suit, clearly tailored to fit his extremely tall frame perfectly. The man had light blue eyes and wore his blonde hair slicked back with the sides shaved down. His face was clean cut but had a rugged sort of look to it all the same. The man proceeded to pull newspaper out of the briefcase he was carrying and flip through the pages, a content smile playing on his lips.

        Eren didn’t recognize the guy, but Armin obviously did. “Armin, who is that?”

        “Eren, th-that’s the CEO of Trost Tech,” Armin said in a strangled sort of voice. Eren blinked and looked behind him at the man once more.

        “Him?”

        “Yes, him! That’s Erwin Smith!”

        As if he heard Armin say his name, the man looked up from his paper and locked eyes with Eren, who was blatantly staring his way still. Armin stiffened and broke out into a cold sweat.

        “Oh crap, he’s looking this way!”

     


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers! Thank you so much for making it this far, that means a lot to me! I promise the story is only going to get better from here. I've just got a few more chapters of set up to do, and then I have so much fluff and angst and Levi being the dick we all know and love and Eren being simply adorable andddd maybe some sexy times... But I'm getting ahead of myself. *ahem* So, now that you all have met Erwin, that is pretty much everyone (I think). Keep on reading, because now you're going to discover a secret about Eren that you never knew before! Enjoy!

      Erwin nodded at Eren, smiling a little before turning back to his newspaper. Eren breathed a sigh of relief and sank down in his seat, but Armin stood up. Eren looked at him in shock.

      "What the hell are you doing?!"

      "I have to go say hi. He's going to be my boss!" Armin insisted, walking over to Erwin's table with nervous, jerky movements.

      Eren groaned inwardly and reluctantly stood as well, following his friend with a shrug. This outing was for Armin anyway; the least Eren could do was accompany him as he made a complete fool out of himself. What else were friends for?

       Erwin noticed the two approaching and set his newspaper aside. He smiled at them. "Well, I guess I was right when I thought that you looked familiar. Where do I know you from again?" he asked in a friendly manner, regarding Armin. His voice was very deep, giving his otherwise harmless words an intimidating weight about them.

       Armin squared his shoulders and looked Erwin in the eye. He held out his hand. "Good morning, sir! My name is Armin Arlet, and I will be interning at Trost starting next month!"

       Erwin nodded slowly, accepting Armin's handshake. "Ah, that's right, I remember now. Your stats were quite impressive, young man. I personally looked at your file and had you picked for the job."

       Armin beamed at that. "Thank you, sir! It's an honor!"

       "Take it easy with the 'sir'. You're making me feel old," Erwin said, wincing playfully.

       "Sorry, si- I mean, sorry."

       Erwin glanced at Eren. "And you are?"

       Eren shook Erwin's hand as well, feeling inferior to this impressive business man. "My name is Eren Yeager. I'm a childhood friend of Armin."

       Erwin's eyes widened at that. "Yeager..?"

       Eren shrugged. He was used to this sort of reaction to his name; it was foreign after all. “Yeah, it’s a weird family name, I know.”

       “Oh no, I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Erwin said quickly. “It’s just…”

       “It’s fine. No harm done.” Eren smiled awkwardly.

       “Well, alright then,” Erwin said, nodding. He redirected his attention to Armin. “I’m curious as to how you youngsters even know about this diner.”

       Armin blushed of all things. Eren would have laughed at him if the situation was different. “Actually, it was Eren that brought me here today. He’s been here before.”

       “Oh?” The blue eyes turned to Eren once more. He shrugged again, feeling super disrespectful but he didn’t know what else to do.

       Petra came over then, her notepad ready. She noticed the gathering of teenagers in front of Erwin and stopped. “So you know Mr. Erwin, too, Eren?” she asked, coming closer. “Well, I guess that figures.”

       “Now, Petra, I’ve told you a million times not to call me ‘mister’. It makes me feel old.”

       “Sorry, sir.”

       “That’s the same thing…”

       Armin piped up then. “Why does it figure that Eren would know Mr. Smith?”

       “Not you too, Armin.”

       Petra tilted her head. “Because he knows Levi,” she said like it was the most obvious thing. Eren stiffened at the mention of Levi’s name. What did he have to do with this?

       “What the hell is going on here?!” Oruo suddenly yelled, stomping over to glare at Eren and Armin. “How dare you two ruffians come over here and bother Mr. Erwin Smith while he is trying to enjoy his newspaper!”

       “They weren’t exactly bothering me… And can you please stop calling me that..?”

       "Get lost, brats," Oruo said, waving his hand impatiently at Eren and Armin.

       Eren balled his fists. He was start ugh to get pissed off, but he didn't want to cause a scene in front of Armin's boss. "Armin, let's go sit back down," he growled through his teeth, pulling Armin's arm. Armin nodded, sending his sour mood.

       Oruo huffed at them and pushed the pot of coffee he was holding into Petra's hands. "I'll be taking your order, Mr. Erwin Smith, sir."

        "Like I said..." Erwin began with an uneasy expression. His phone buzzed just then. He checked it and suddenly his face grew serious. "Actually, I think I'll take my leave now. Sorry to disturb you."

        Eren turned at the audible shift in Erwin's voice. Erwin had stood up, folding the newspaper and picking up his briefcase. His face was more than just serious; it was stoic. Whatever the message was, it had flipped a switch in this man. Eren felt intimidated from his seat a few feet away. Erwin looked over at where the boys were seated before he turned to leave. Armin sat up straighter. Even Eren thought he should take his elbows off the table or something.

        "It was nice to meet you two. Armin, I look forward to hearing the good reports on your progress." And with that, Erwin left the diner, the only sound being the ding of the bell attached to the door.

        Nothing Erwin had just said was out of place from his earlier character, and yet Eren felt that he had issued an order just then. He couldn't explain it well, but he could tell why Armin had been so awe struck when he saw him now. If _that_ was how Erwin was at work all the time, Eren would be on his toes as well.

        Once the door closed, Armin let out a breath. "Oh man, I was so nervous..." he sighed, sinking a little into the booth.

        Eren chuckled a bit. "Yeah, he was an intense guy, huh?"

        Armin nodded. "He has such a commanding presence during press conferences and interviews, too. But that's part of why he's at such a high position at such a young age, I think. He has the charisma of a leader. And he's not afraid to use whatever is at his dispense to improve the company, either. Like, just last year, when the stocks took a dive, he..."

        Eren started to zone out as Armin started to chat about all of Erwin's accomplishments in the past five years. His head still kind of hurt, but his eyes had finally adjusted to the light. He slurped on the coffee that Petra had poured.

       "...Levi?"

       Eren snapped back to attention. "Huh?"

       Armin pursed his lips at Eren. "I said, so who is this Levi person?"

       Eren blushed instantly, dropping his eyes to his coffee. Armin studied his reaction silently, waiting for him to say something.

       "Armin... Look, promise me you won't tell Mikasa, okay?"

       "Eren..."

       "No, I know, I'm going to tell her, I swear, but just not yet. Not with everything so confusing like this. I need to sort out my feelings first."

        Armin's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "Eren, you..."

        Eren peaked at Armin's face as he uttered the words that made everything that had happened this weekend suddenly feel real.

        "I... met someone."

        "Come back soon, okay?" Petra called to Armin and Eren as they left the diner. They both nodded and waved before opening the door.

        The two walked along the sidewalk in complete silence. Eren peeked at Armin's face, trying to gauge his reaction. He had listened to Eren explain the events of the last week quietly without a word. But Eren was starting to get unnerved by Armin's unresponsiveness. Finally, he couldn't take is anymore.

        "Armin, say something, will you?" Eren demanded, his tone desperate.

        Armin pursed his lips. He wouldn't look at Eren. Eren's heart dropped. Was it that bad?

       "Armin, I..."

       Eren started to apologize, but Armin shook his head at him. He gave an uneasy smile, surprising Eren.

       "No, sorry, it's not what you think. I'm just trying to get over the shock, is all. I never even knew you were _gay_ , and now you tell me you went and did all of that before me... I feel like I've lost somehow."

        Eren stared at Armin's completely serious displeased face and he let out a sudden laugh. That was his problem?

        Armin blushed and pouted. "Don't laugh at me," he grumbled.

        Eren tried to stop smiling and failed. He slung an arm around Armin. "I told you, I don't need to hear about what you and Horseface do when I'm not there. Or, I guess what you don't do..."

        "Eren!!"

        Armin attempted to shake Eren off, but Eren held right and ruffled Armin's hair. They fought playfully like this for a while. Eren eventually let Armin go and they continued to walk aimlessly down the street. His face turned serious.

       "So... You're not mad?" he asked hesitantly.

        Armin shrugged. "I can see why you kept it a secret. Too be honest, I'm still skeptical about the whole thing. But, I would be lying if I didn't say I wish you would have just told me. I wouldn't have tried to stop you or anything; it wouldn't have done me any good anyway."

        Eren nodded. "I'm sorry."

        Armin smiled reassuring. "Woah, Eren apologizing for something he did wrong? Creepy."

        "Fuck off."

        "I think you've got that covered for me."

        Eren tried to hide his embarrassment. "I guess I'm going to start wailing into those, huh?"

        Armin grinned. "Probably."

        Eren groaned.

       "So, when are you going to tell Mikasa? You plan to see him again, right?"

       "Y-yeah..."

       "Then you should tell her," Armin said gently. "You two can't stay like this forever you know. I noticed Mikasa had been down lately."

       "I know. I know, but..."

        _What if she tells me not to see him anymore?_

        The thought had been plaguing Eren. Armin was pretty much always on Eren's side about things, but Mikasa was different. She only cared about Eren's safety. And Eren would guess that sleeping with rich, older male strangers and going to their houses did not fall under the category of "safe".

        Eren hated being at odds with his sister, but he couldn't stay away from Levi at this point. The guy was like a drug; Eren just needed him in his system.

        Armin put a hand on Eren's shoulder. "It'll be fine," he said, smiling a little. Eren relaxed a bit, letting Armin's words soothe him.

       "Yeah," he agreed, though he felt less than confident.

       Armin's cell phone rang just then. They stopped so he could answer it.

       "Hello?" Armin asked. "Jean..!"

       Eren looked at Armin when he said that. Armin's face looked nervous as he listened to whatever Jean was saying on the other end. Then his face brightened in an instant.

       "You heard back?! You're in?! That's great news! I'm so proud of you! ...Yeah, no I haven't heard anything yet... No, I'm sure it'll be any minute now... Sure, let's meet up! I'm already out with Eren, we went to get breakfast." Armin looked at Eren. "Do you want to come, Eren?"

        Eren shook his head. "No way in hell."

        Armin gave him a look and returned to his call. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

        Eren grinned at Armin. "So when are you gonna tell him that you've even met the boss first?"

        "Shut up, Eren. Weren't we just talking about your problems?" Armin whined.

        Eren laughed. "Run along to your boyfriend. I'll see you later. Or will I..?"

        "Eren!"

        "Actually, it's a school night. You have better come home, young man."

        "Eren, you're such a jerk!"

        "'Jerk'? Who even says that anymore?"

        Armin huffed and turned away from Eren without another word. Eren tried his best to hold down his laughter as he called out to Armin once more. "Hey, tell Horseface I said hi!"

         "Stop calling him that!"

         Eren chuckled and looked around. He didn't really feel like going home, so he started walking to the park. It was a nice day outside so he could take his time enjoying sitting on his favorite bench.

         Eren arrived at the fountain inside the park walls and saw that there weren't that many people around and his bench was completely free. He happily sat down. Eren's hangover was gone and he felt great. But maybe a little sleepy...

      

          Eren shivered and opened his eyes. He was cold; his skin was crawling with goosebumps from the chilly breeze that has been blowing through the night air. Eren realized with a start that he had fallen asleep and spent all day on this bench. When he sat up, his neck popped painfully, as if confirming what happened.

          Eren blinked the sleep from his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He was sort of surprised he hadn't been mugged; his backpack rested under the bench in the same spot and his phone had still been in his pocket, safe and sound. _Talk about lucky..._

         His phone read that it was just past nine. Mikasa had left him at least five text messages going from asking where he was to a string of profanities to telling him to get his ass home right away. Eren groaned; she was going to rip him a new one when he got home. And there was no way she was going to believe him when he told her he simply feel asleep on a bench at the park.

         Eren tried to formulate a plan of telling her in a way that didn't sound stupid as he stood up. That's when Eren noticed that the park was eerily quiet tonight. It was getting late, of course, but this was the city. There was always at least two people jogging down the path or walking their dogs around here still. But Eren couldn't even hear a cricket chirping. He got an uneasy feeling.

         Eren tried to get his tired brain to think. There was only one reason the park would be practically deserted right now...

         Eren started to walk immediately, trying to appear casual as his strides grew longer and longer. He had to get out of here, right now. He knew what was happening in The Wall Park, and he definitely wanted no part in it. The reason no one was here right now was because there were most likely people at the Maria entrance keeping everyone out. He was going to have to sneak past whoever the "guards" were and make his escape.

          "Hey, you!" a voice shouted harshly. Eren froze. "Yeah, you. What the fuck are you doing in here? Don't you know anything? Wall Maria is falling tonight!"

          Eren silently cursed his luck when he heard the familiar phrase. So it really was these guys...

          There was a gang called the Titans that operated in the city. At first glance they seemed like a bunch of low life punks with no organization, but anyone who lived here knew better. They were actually drug traffickers being secretly led by the elites. This gang transported every and any kind of illegal substance, from the recreational drugs that addicted rich teenagers bought to get high to the pharmaceutical drugs you wouldn't find over the counter that shady businesses would buy at cheap prices so they could turn a better profit. Everyone knew about this gang, but no reports about the gang that get turned into the police ever show up on file. So that basically meant the police were in on the whole thing. And while they continued to turn a blind eye, this gang spread throughout the city, beating up anyone who crossed them. Eren knew all too well about the beatings, because back during his bad days, he used to be the one giving them to people. Until several months ago, Eren was a Titan.

          When Mikasa and Armin found out and after everything that happened with Annie, he left the gang but they didn't recognize his leaving. So in their eyes, Eren was still a Titan. He tries his best to avoid them so that no one tries to bring him back to the leader of the Titans, Ape, but he definitely fucked up this time.

         _Man, and I even know that they get their goods here every month! How could I be so stupid?! Fuck!_

         "Hey, I'm talking to you... Holy shit. I'd that you, Eren?" the voice sounded amused. Eren turned around slowly. "It is you!"

         Eren didn't recognize the guy talking to him, but he definitely knew who Eren was. He clamped a hand on Eren's shoulder and laughed.

         "So you finally decided to stop skipping, huh?" the guy said happily. "Good, good! You're a fucking Titan after all! Hey, here, a souvenir."

          The guy stuffed a rolled plastic bag in Eren's pocket. Eren took it out immediately. "N-no, it's okay..."

          "Don't be shy! There's plenty to go around! See you!" The guy left Eren standing there with a bag of what he was pretty sure was cocaine.

           "Shit... I gotta get rid of this..." Eren muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. Just as he was about to toss the bag into a nearby trash can, he heard someone rustling through the leaves.

          "Everything okay on this end..?" yelled Hitch as he walked onto the path with Boris. He caught sight of Eren and a slow smile spread across his face. "Well, what do we have here?"

          The blood drained from Eren's face. Things couldn't get worse than meeting Cops Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum right now.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have just finished my favorite fanfiction of all time and am trying to fight back the tears of happiness and sadness that are threatening to spill out of my eyes by just going ahead and posting the next chapter of my story. This is a lame little tribute to the Thursday updates that I used to look forward to so much, and are now gone. (But this in no way means I'm going to start posting every Thursday; I'm too disorganized for that.)  
> The fanfic is called The Intern by Lutte. If you haven't read it yet, I order you to stop reading my crappy story and go educate yourself in the beauty of Eren and Levi the right way this instant! That fic is my bible.   
> But I digress. We left Eren at the hands of evil cops last chapter. Let's see what will become of him now... Personally, i think orange might be his color ;)

     "I asked you a question. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Hitch demanded in an authoritative voice. He unclipped his flashlight from his belt and shined it at Eren's face. Eren shielded his eyes with his hand as they burned with tears. He was very sensitive to light.

     "Is it a crime to be taking a walk in the park?" Eren asked, trying to sound casual. "It's not like the park closes or anything."

     "H-Hitch, what are you doing..? We're not supposed to mess with the members!" Boris said in a panicked voice beside him. Hitch jabbed him in the stomach. "Ow! What was that for?!"

      "You dumbass, this is that prick that punched our lights out before!" Hitch snapped. "I don't give a fuck whether he's a Titan or not, his ass is mine!"

       Eren let out a dry chuckle. "I'd really rather you change your wording on that," he commented.

       Hitch turned back sharply towards Eren. "Are you giving me attitude, boy? You can get arrested for insulting a police officer you know."

       "How am I insulting you? You're the one who wants to do stuff with my ass."

       "You cheeky bastard! I've heard enough of this shit. What are you doing here? What's in the damn bag?" Hitch pointed with his flashlight towards Eren's bag, where he had slipped the bag of cocaine while they were bantering.

        Eren hoisted the bag higher on his shoulder. "That's none of your fucking business. I haven't done anything wrong, officer. Would you kindly move and let me pass? Unless you have some kind of search warrant you magically obtained?"

        Boris looked nervous. His eyes darted left and right as he put a hand on Hitch's shoulder. "Let's just go, man. Nile is gonna ducking kill us if any of these guys get turned in and start talking."

         "Shut up, Boris!"

         "But, Hitch-"

         "Just shut the fuck up and let me handle this, okay?" Hitch said. He stared Eren down. Eren returned his gaze, unsure of what he was doing but refusing to back down.

         Hitch swung and punched Eren square in the jaw. Eren staggered back, completely taken by surprise. Hitch took advantage of his weak footing and hit him again, this time in the stomach. He roughly snatched away Eren's backpack while Eren doubled over in pain.

         "Boris, cuff him. This fucker has at least a pound of coke in this bag." Hitch said, pulling out the bag from Eren backpack.

         Boris looked like he wanted to run away, but he did what he was told and cuffed Eren. Eren glared at Hitch.

         "That isn't mine," he insisted and Hitch nodded.

         "I know. But Levi's not here to help you this time. Consider this payback."

         Eren's heart sank as he looked at Hitch's face. He was really getting arrested right now. There was no way he was going to get out of this one lightly.

        "H-hey, what if I really am a Titan?" Eren asked, desperately trying to free his hands from these cuffs. "Weren't you told not to arrest me? What if I talk?"

        Boris' eyes widened in horror, but Hitch merely laughed. "You're full of shit. You don't know anything."

        "How can you be so sure?" Eren challenged, but he was starting to panic. Hitch had called his bluff. If he saw through that, Eren had nothing.

        "You don't have a lot of rights, but you do have the right to remain silent. I suggest you use it." And with that, Hitch was finished talking. He pulled Eren by his arm and shoved him forward, leading him out of the park with Boris trailing behind them.

        Eren was put into the back of a police car. He looked out of the barred windows as Hitch and Boris climbed in and started the car. They started to drive.

        "Hitch, I can't believe you did that!" Boris said in a low whisper. "What if we get in trouble for this?"

         "We won't. Even if he is a Titan, he doesn't know shit. They won't even notice one guy missing."

          "...You'd better be right about this."

          "Quit your bitching, Boris. Like I could just let this prick walk away after what he did to us! If Levi hadn't been there..."

          Eren could hear them even though they were whispering in the front of the car. He wondered what Levi had to do with these two. He had acted like he knew them before too. And hadn't they been talking about delivering something "before Levi noticed"? What were they supposed to be delivering? As far as Eren knew, the Titans only dealt in drugs. But why would it matter if Levi knew or not?

         Eren couldn't figure it out. He needed Armin to think about complicated situations like this for him.

        _Oh shit, Armin's gonna find out about this! And of course, Mikasa is too... How the hell am I going to explain this? Will they even believe me if I tell them I didn't do anything? I can't believe this is happening to me._

       Eren closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the window glass. It was cold. So were the cuffs restraining his arms. He could feel the cold seeping slowly into his body, like the realization that he was going to jail.

       "You're... where?" Mikasa's voice sounded hollow and distant through the reciever of the phone. Eren's backpack hadn't been returned to him, so he had dialed the only number he had ever bothered to memorize: his sister's.

       "Mikasa, it's not what you think," Eren said with a sigh. "I didn't really do anything, it's just I ran into these cops I beat up..."

       "You _what_?! How the fuck do you think that's nothing?!" Mikasa was yelling. Eren cringed just imagining her face right now. "Eren, what the hell... Why do you do shit like this..."

        Mikasa's voice broke into a sob. Eren could feel his heart break, hearing her this upset. He had done a lot of things and been in some fucked up situations before, but never anything like this. He never imagined he would be calling Mikasa from jail.

        "I swear it's not like that," Eren pleaded. "Please, Mikasa, you've got to believe me!"

        "Eren... You know I'm always on your side," Mikasa said, sniffing a little. She took a deep breath into the phone, collecting herself. "Do you know how much your bail is?"

         Eren closed his eyes. "Nothing we can afford. Bail for drugs is expensive."

         "When's your court date?"

         "Tomorrow."

         "Got it. I'll be there."

         "Mikasa, are you going to tell Armin?"

         She paused. "Why? Did you not want me to tell him?"

         "It's just... He's going to want to come down here with you, and there's school tomorrow. He has perfect attendance." And also Eren didn't want Armin seeing him like this, dressed in orange like a convict.

         "Eren, his best friend is in jail. I think he'll want to be there." Mikasa said dryly.

         "But..."

         "Not to mention I have to miss work for this. Don't you care about that?"

         "...I'm sorry."

         Mikasa sighed on the other end. "Somehow, hearing you finally say that to me doesn't make me feel any better."

         The officer who escorted Eren to the phone signaled at him to wrap it up. Eren gripped the phone tightly. "Mikasa... I have to go."

         Mikasa didn't respond at first. "Eren, it's going to be okay."

         Eren nodded slowly, and then he realized that Mikasa couldn't see him. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

         "Bye."

         "Goodbye."

          _Click._

         The court room was deadly silent. Eren could hear his own heartbeat inside his skull. A man entered the room, followed by Boris and Hitch. Hitch smirked in Eren’s direction. Eren glared back.

         “All rise for the honorable Judge Darius Zackly!” Hitch announced loudly.

         The man named Zackly sat down. He picked up the gavel and hit it, once.

         “You may be seated.”

         Then he looked down at the paper on his seat.

         “Eren Yeager.”

         The judge read Eren’s name from the sheet of paper in a solemn voice. He was an older man with thin rimmed glasses over a wrinkled face. His hair was a pure grey, almost silver, and it covered his face in the form of a moustache and a beard. His eyes flicked from the words on the paper to Eren’s face. Eren tried not to flinch as he stared back.

         The man sighed wearily and continued to read aloud. “Arrested for drug possession late last night… Son, do you know how serious the charges are for this? You could wind up in prison for three years for the amount of cocaine you were found with.”

         Eren remained silent, but his eyes widened in horror. _Th-three years?! What the hell?! I haven’t done anything wrong!_

        Mikasa and Armin were sitting slightly behind where Eren was handcuffed, listening to the judge. Mikasa stood up. “Excuse me, sir!”

        The judge looked at Mikasa. “Who are you? The boy’s guardian?”

        “Yes, sir.” Mikasa said. “And I would like to speak on Eren’s behalf.”

           Armin stood up next to her, his eyes full of resolve. Eren felt relief flood his system as he looked at the two most important people in the world to him. As long as they believed in him, he would be okay.

          The judge, however, was unmoved by their stand in Eren's defense. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with a weary sigh. "The defendant will be appointed an attorney. Please sit back down."

         "But..!"

         "If you make a scene in my courtroom, I will have you thrown out." The judge did not raise his voice, but his tone was grave.

         "Mikasa..." Armin murmured, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder. Mikasa looked into Armin's eyes, and slowly nodded. They both sat back down.

          The judge looked again at Eren's file, and then at him. "Son, I see your kind every day lately it seems. Young thugs who don't know how to listen to authority, doing nothing but rebelling and causing trouble. Frankly, I'm tired of it. I have half a mind to just throw you in jail right now, no trial at all."

           A cold sweat ran down Eren's back. This guy was serious. He really wanted this whole thing to just be over with, without even giving Eren a chance to defend himself.

          Mikasa shot up from her seat immediately. "You just said Eren would be appointed an attorney! Was that a lie?!"

          "Not one more peep," Judge Zackly warned severely. Hitch reached towards his gun.

          _This is really bad._ Eren needed to do something before Mikasa ended up in jail with him. He could feel her rage from where he sat.

         Before he could change his mind, Eren stood. Boris and Hitch tensed, now both of their guns at ready. Eren ignored them, concentrating his eyes on Darius Zackly. The judge looked at him with an uninterested gaze, devoid of any sympathy.

         "Sir," Eren said, clearing his throat. "With all due respect, I was framed. That wasn't my cocaine, I have no idea whose it was, and this officer over here brutally assaulted me while searching me. I demand an attorney so that I can properly defend myself against these claims made against me."

         "Such pretty words from a delinquent," Hitch sneered at Eren, an evil grin on his face. "But who's gonna believe you, kid? Give it up."

        Eren was thinking the same thing until he looked at Boris. The guy's hands were shaking so bad that his gun was wobbling. His eyes darted from Hitch to Eren nervously, like he was unsure of who was going to win this. That was all the confirmation Eren needed.

       "Shut up, and just listen to me!" he yelled loudly, his voice echoing in the small courtroom. "Just believe me!"

       "I will have order in this courtroom!" Judge Zackly shouted back. He reached for his gavel. "Eren Yeager, I sentence you to-"

       The doors opened suddenly then, silencing everyone. Eren turned his head towards the doors, and the sight of the person standing there shocked him to his very core.

 "Le...vi...?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OCTOBER IS FINALLY HERE!!!  
> If it was possible to like a month more than your own birthday month, this would be my favorite month! October has so much to offer: while it's not the official start of fall, it's when it finally starts to feel like fall; in conclusion, I can wear all my anime sweaters; adding onto that, the leaves finally start to change color; and finally... HALLOWEEN!!! It is the month to get weird, do something crazy, watch scary shit, and most importantly, feed your yaoi obsession by continuing to consume my fanfic!   
> Enjoy! :3

       "Sorry, the attorney couldn't make it, so he sent me instead." Levi's voice cut through the stunned silence of the courtroom.

       The lie was so blatantly obvious, Eren would have laughed at him under different circumstances. _But why the hell is Levi here? Is this some kind of joke?_

       Whatever the reason, Eren couldn't deny that he  was happy to see him.

       Levi caught Eren's eye and smirked. "Hey, brat. You look happy to see me."

       Not that he'd ever admit that to Levi. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

       Levi rolled his eyes. "Do me a favor, and just shut up. Adults are talking here."

       Eren felt anger rise up, taking over all the previous happiness. Even in a situation like this, Levi could be such an asshole!

       Darius Zackly watched their exchange through narrowed eyes. "Levi. What are you doing here?" he asked in a guarded voice. "This trial has nothing to do with you."

       "Actually it does," Levi interjected. "This boy is my responsibility."

        The judge raised his eyebrows. "How?"

        Levi raised an eyebrow right back. "As part of Trost Tech's newest media stunt, I'm supposed to usher troubled youths into the company by giving them menial sanitary jobs. I picked this brat for the program a week ago."

         Mikasa and Armin both stared open-mouthed at Eren, but Eren was too busy gaping at Levi to notice. He wasn't even sure what he was reacting about. _Program? "Trouble youth"? Wait... Levi works at Trost Tech?!_

       Levi ignored them all completely, focusing on Judge Zackly. The judge scratched his beard, unconvinced. "Even if you did pick Mr. Yeager for such a thing, that doesn't give you any jurisdiction over him in my courtroom, Levi. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

       Eren's heart sank. So it really was hopeless.

       Levi approached the podium, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He gave Judge Zackly an amused smile and took out a cigarette. Eren's eyes widened in shock. Judge Zackly sighed heavily.

      "There is no smoking here," he said in an exasperated voice. "You know that."

      "You know what I know, Darius?" Levi interjected. "I know that you're tired of seeing our kind. You look exactly like you did back then, all fed up and shit. I know that you don't really want to send this kid to jail to rot, just like you didn't want to put me in the slammer. So I'm saying that I'll take him off your hands. I'll straighten him out. Deal?"

      Judge Zackly folded his arms and let out a low chuckle. "Straighten him out?" he repeated. "You?"

      Levi put the cigarette in his mouth and looked in his pockets for his lighter. "You know I'm the best one for the job. Trust me, jail can't handle a punk like this."

      Eren bit back his response, thinking to best to let that comment go. Levi glanced at him and smirked, the ass.

      "...Fine." Judge Zackly leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Eren Yeager, I am releasing you under probation with 500 community service hours and a fine of $250. Take his cuffs off."

       Hitch made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat and stomped over to Eren. He jerked Eren's hands forward and took his cuffs off. Eren rubbed his sore wrists.

      "Nice to see you're not too hurt, Hitch," Levi said. "I received a _concerning_ phone call from your chief."

       Hitch balked and ducked his head. "I-it was nothing too serious, sir."

       Levi glared at him as he scurried away. Eren watched with some satisfaction.

       "I'll see you at work bright and early, brat," Levi said before walking briskly out the courtroom doors.

       "W-wait! Levi!" Eren called, running after him.

       "Eren!" Eren heard Mikasa call him, but he kept chasing after Levi. He would explain everything to her later.

       "Levi!" Eren yelled, catching Levi's arm. He stopped. "What..? How..? You, back there..."

       They were outside. The night air was chilly. Eren shivered in the cold; he wasn't wearing anything but an orange jumpsuit. Levi lit his cigarette and took a logan drag. He breathed out.

       "Oh, right. My reward." Levi turned to Eren.

       "Wha-?"

       Before Eren could get a word in, Levi's lips were crashing down on his. He opened Eren's mouth forcibly, deepening the kiss with his tongue. Eren felt his knees get weak and he grabbed onto Levi for support as Levi continued to suck and lick without stopping. Eren felt lightheaded from the lack of air, but he didn't care. He tasted like smoke and sun. It warmed up Eren's cold body all the way to his core. Levi broke the kiss, licking the line of saliva trailing off Eren's lips. Eren blushed.

        "D-don't do that... It's dirty," he gasped.

        Levi smiled at that, a real genuine that lit up his whole face. Eren's jaw went slack at the sight of it.

        "You... smiled."

        "You said that last time too, brat."

        "Th-that's because you..!"

        "Yeah, yeah."

        Levi ruffled Eren's hair and backed out of his arms. He put his cigarette back in his mouth and walked away, across the street to his car, looking super out of place parked in between Mikasa's old Volvo and Armin's pick up truck he inherited from his grandfather.

        Mikasa and Armin came rushing through the doors after Eren.

        "Guys-"

        "Who the hell was that?!" Mikasa demanded, closing in on Eren. He flinched. "He just came in there, talking like he knew you..."

        "M-Mikasa, calm down..." Armin said.

        Mikasa whirled on him. "Did you know about this guy, Armin?!"

        Armin paled. "Well, I..."

       "I almost forgot," Levi interrupted loudly from the driver's seat. The car was now in park by the curb. He threw something at Eren, which he caught reflexively; it was his key. "You left that at my house, brat."

        That said, Levi rolled up the window and drove away.

        Mikasa turned on Eren, her anger palpable. "Eren, explain this. Was that the rich bastard I specifically told you not to work for?"

        Eren gulped. Suddenly jail didn't seem like such a bad option to him.

        Armin wisely decided to go grocery shopping for that night's dinner instead of coming immediately home, so Eren and Mikasa had the house to themselves. Eren expected Mikasa to let him have it as soon as they entered the apartment, but instead she ignored him completely, throwing the car keys on the coffee table and walking straight towards the bathroom. A few seconds later, Eren could hear the shower water running.

       He took this as a sign that he was in the clear for now and sat down on the couch. Eren sighed and closed his eyes. It was good to be home again. Spending a night in jail was an emotionally draining experience. He had really thought for a second there that he would never be released. Until Levi showed up…

        Eren strained his ears. Mikasa was still in the shower. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and hurriedly scrolled down the contacts until he found the name he was looking for. He sent a text message, typing it out quickly and hitting the send button before he could change his mind.

        The reply came almost immediately.

**My Asshole Boss (SENT 6:27 PM):** I'll have you properly show your gratitude this weekend.

        Eren blushed as he looked at his phone. _He couldn't have just said "you're welcome" like a normal person?_ Eren could almost picture Levi sitting on that couch in his living room, holding a mug in that odd fucking way of his and smirking at Eren's text. The image gave him a mixed feeling of annoyance and happiness.

        Eren reread the text, eyes lingering on the last two words. He could hardly wait until this weekend…

        The door swung open and Armin came in holding two arm fulls of groceries. Eren jumped, dropping his phone flat on the floor. He quickly stood up and went to help the struggling Armin.

        “Thanks,” he said.

        “Don’t  worry about it. What’s all this? You feeding Africa tonight, too?” Eren asked teasingly.

        Armin frowned at him. “That is so racist it’s not even funny.”

       “You mean it’s so funny because it’s racist.”

       “You’re going to hell, you know that?”

       “Please. I vacation there.”

       Armin laughed at Eren’s smug look of victory and walked towards the kitchen. Eren followed him and they put the grocery bags down on the table. Mikasa emerged from the bathroom, clad in only a towel. She waltzed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Armin and Eren were so used to Mikasa’s lack of modesty they didn’t even bat an eyelash. It had been so bad when they were kids, but now they felt so much like a family that no one even cared anymore. Mikasa poured herself a glass of milk and walked into the living room, turning on the TV.

       “Eren, your phone is in here on the ground,” she called.

       Remembering what conversation was still open on his screen, Eren hurried into the kitchen. He was just about to reach for it when Mikasa spoke.

      “So, who was he?”

      Eren froze. Mikasa didn’t have to say who. She stood there waiting for him to speak, arms folded across her chest. It was almost funny how much she reminded him of Levi when she did that. Almost.

      “Mikasa, listen…”

      “No, I’m done listening. First, I tell you not to work for that guy. Then, you get _arrested_. Now, I find out that you were working for him all along!” Mikasa’s voice steadily grew louder as she talked, becoming the only sound Eren could hear. He had been afraid of this moment. “Start explaining.”

      “Mikasa, it’s not that big of a deal,” Armin said, stepping into the living room.

      “Armin, this is between me and Eren, okay? Seeing as you already know the whole story, I think I deserve at least this much.” Mikasa said, eyes never leaving Eren’s face. Armin backed off immediately. She sighed. “Look, I don’t need the details, Eren. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only reason you’re not in jail right now. So I just want you to tell me one thing: do you trust this guy?”

      Eren looked straight into Mikasa’s eyes. “Yes, I do.”

      Mikasa stared back, searching his expression. Then, she shrugged. “Do what you want, then. I can’t stop you.”

      Eren smiled at his sister. This was why they were as close as they were. Mikasa always accepted Eren’s decisions, good or bad, if he was sure about it. And he couldn’t be more sure about Levi. “Thanks.”

      “But just know that if he hurts you in any way, I’ll break his dick in half,” Mikasa warned, heading to her room. She closed the door with an audible click.

      Armin looked at Eren. “That went well.”

      Eren let out a breath. “Yeah…”

      He glanced at his phone and realized that a call was ongoing. It must have dialed someone’s number when he dropped it earlier. Eren’s eyes widened in horror when he realized who. He slowly put the phone to his ear.

      “...Levi?”

     There was silence on the other end. Then somebody chuckled. “So you finally realized. You’ve got some nerve, brat, butt-dialing me like that.”

     “It wasn’t a butt dial! I dropped my phone!”

     “Like that’s any better.”

     “You..!”

     Eren couldn’t think of any insults though, because he was starting to feel something stir inside him. Hearing Levi’s low voice in his ear was enough to undo him. One kiss hadn’t been nearly enough. He wanted Levi, now.

     “...”

     Levi didn’t say anything, but Eren could hear him breathing on the other line. He waited, anticipation making his heart thud erratically.

    “...Come over.” He hung up the phone.

    Eren stared at his phone in confusion for a few seconds before it hit him. _Holy shit._

    He grabbed his sweater and bolted out the front door before anyone could notice his absence. Eren took off for the subway station at a sprint.

     The elevator ride get like an eternity. When he finally was in front of Levi's door, Eren took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. He sniffed his clothes and grimaced; he was wearing his favorite green sweater again and couldn't even remember the last time it had been in the wash. Eren regretted not listening to Mikasa when she told him to do his laundry.

     Eren reached out to knock on the door and froze suddenly. He was starting to get nervous and his palms were sweating. Eren could hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears. Before he could turn away and hide in the elevator, Eren steeled his nerves and turned the doorknob. It swung open, to Eren's surprise; he hadn't expected the door to be unlocked.

     An unmistakable bark resounded in the bare hallway and Eren found himself being tackled the ground in the entrance by a large bundle of light brown fur. Rover pinned Eren down with his paws and proceeded to lick every inch of his face.

     "Rover, down! Stop!" Eren gasped between laughs. A mixture of relief and disappointment settled in his heart as Eren realized why Levi had told him to come over. _What the hell was I so nervous about? I'm so stupid..._

     "Fucking idiotic mutt," said an unmistakable voice. Eren looked up and had to keep himself from staring. Levi was standing at the entranceway, leaning slightly against the wall in the same boxers and shirt that Eren had borrowed the last time he was here. The boxers obviously fit on him, the shirt a bit stretched and engulfing his slim frame.

    Eren blushed all the way to his ears and looked down, concentrating on stroking Rover's fluffy belly. Rover rolled over on his back, giving Eren full access.

    "He only gets this hyper because you never take him out," Eren pointed out.

    "Hanji takes him out regularly."

    Eren rolled his eyes. "You should do it."

    Levi let out a harsh laugh and put the cigarette he had been holding between his fingers in his mouth. It wasn't lit yet, meaning he must have just been on the balcony, smoking.

    "You also really shouldn't smoke so much," Eren added. He'd be lying if he didn't like watching Levi smoke though.

    "Thank you, mother."

    Levi turned away and walked back down the hallway. The sight of him barefoot and walking around in comfortable clothing with his beautiful bangs in his face was enough to make Eren completely hard. He focused on Rover, trying to calm his racing pulse by petting him.

    "How long are you going to play with that damn dog?" Levi snapped. Eren looked up in surprise. He was standing at the end of the hallway now, holding up an ashtray. He took a quick drag of his cigarette and   then smashed it into the tray.

    Eren was confused. "What do you mean? Isn't that why I'm here?"

    Levi looked at him in irritation. "Do you really think I'd call you here this late just to have you spend time with that dog?"

    _Um, yes._ "Then, why is he out of his room..?"

    "When I'm smoking, I let him out onto the balcony with me." Levi explained with a shrug. He set the ashtray down. "I was waiting for you and smoking and then he heard the door opening and ran through the crack in the balcony door."

    "Oh."

    "Anyway," Levi said, approaching Eren again. "I didn't call you here to watch the dog or to talk about stupid shit. Put him back in his room and wash your hands. I'll be in bed."

    Eren gulped, feeling put on the spot. Levi really didn't hold back when he was speaking. It never ceased to catch Eren by surprise. So they were really doing... _it_ , right?

    He guided Rover back to his room. The dog whined at him and gave him puppy dog eyes. Eren smiled. "I'll play with you later, buddy, okay?"

    Rover didn't seem to be satisfied with this answer, but Eren closed the door anyway.

    "What took you so long?" Levi demanded as soon as Eren walked into the room. He was sitting on the bed examine his nails. Eren noticed that the sheets looked fresh and that there were a few things set out on the nightstand.

    "I didn't take a particularly long time..." Eren trailed off because of the look Levi was giving him. He walked over to where Levi was sitting obediently.

    Levi put a hand on the back of Eren's neck and pulled him closer. Eren knew the kiss was coming, but he still went weak when Levi's tongue invaded his mouth, probing without delay. It ended way too quickly.

    "One kiss definitely hadn't been enough," Levi breathed onto Eren's mouth. Those words made Eren's heart flutter. _We thought the same thing..._

    "Take off your clothes."

    Eren complied, slipping out of his sweater and taking off his shirt and pants. Levi stayed dressed. He reached for one of the bottles that has been on the nightstand and squirted the liquid onto his hands.

    "Turn around."

    Eren looked at Levi, puzzles. "Why?"

     "I have to prepare it."

     "Prepare what?"

     "Your butt."

     The blood drained from Eren's face as he realized what Levi was saying. "My _what_?!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I bet you all know where this chapter is going... That's right, straight to the sexy times! Now, bear in mind that I am about as awkward a person as my alter ego, Eren, so don't expect anything super romantic. At least, not yet. We'll get there one day, but right now these two want to do one thing and it ain't make love- if you know what I mean.  
> And on that note, onto the story!

         Levi sighed. He eyed Eren. "This is why I hate brats. You knew what we were going to do when you came here right?"

         "Well, y-yeah, somewhat..."

         "Then what's the problem? You trust me, don't you?"

         Eren blushed, realizing Levi had overheard the conversation he had with Mikasa. “I do,” he admitted in a quiet voice. “But…”

         “But what?” Levi snapped.

         Eren looked up in a panic. “Th-this and that have nothing to do with each other! I mean, I just… This is kind of… I don’t think I really…”

         He couldn’t think of anything to say in this situation. Eren was too confused. He definitely wanted Levi badly, but he had never been with a guy before; and while he had a vague idea of how it worked, that didn’t mean he was ready for anything to go up his ass! As Eren had an internal battle, he could feel Levi getting more and more impatient next to him. That also called his attention to exactly how naked he was at the moment.

         “Ah, fuck it,” Levi muttered, setting the bottle aside. “I should have expected something like this to happen anyway…”

        “Sorry,” Eren grumbled in embarrassment. He picked his pants up off the floor, ready to put them back on.

        “...The fuck are you doing?” Levi asked.

        “Getting dressed..?”

        Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren. “You really think I’m going to let you go without doing anything to you first? You’ve gotta stop being so naive, kid. The real world doesn’t work that way.”

        That said, Levi carefully stripped himself of his clothes with one hand. He spread his legs on the bed and moved the hand still covered in lube towards his own butt. Levi began to press his fingers inside himself slowly, one at a time, opening up the area. Eren’s eyes widened. The sight was incredibly sensual and only served to make him more aroused than before.

        Levi parted his lips, panting a bit. His skin started to look flushed and hot, growing slightly pink like a rose petal. Eren thought it was beautiful.

        "Don't just stare at me like that." Levi shifted uncomfortably under Eren's gaze.

        Eren tried to focus his eyes somewhere else, but failed. "Do you do this a lot?" he asked, trying to break the silence. And because he was curious; Levi's hands seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

         Levi shook his head. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

         Eren shrugged. "Just wondering."

         "Well stop. Not all of us can be the Virgin Mary."

         "I'm not a virgin!"

         Levi smirked. "You are in all the ways that matter," he replied.

         Eren was finding it hard to make an argument against that when Levi was in that kind of position. He had to admit he was getting more excited by the minute. Levi had a very nice ass, Eren was beginning to notice; his hips looked good, too.

         "Okay, I'm tired of you ogling me. This is not some fucking free show." Levi pulled his fingers out, much to Eren's disappointment. "Come here."

         Eren climbed onto the bed beside Levi, his expression wary. Levi took one of his hands and guided it towards his ass. "What are you..?"

         "Do you have to ask about every little thing? Figure it out."

         Eren didn't have time to figure anything out before Levi took hold of Eren's fingers and shoved them in. The squelching sound his fingers made was so lewd that it made Eren blush. His fingers felt wet, and very warm. Levi was tight, squeezing his fingers. Eren stared at Levi's face as his body adjusted to the feeling. It contorted into slight discomfort for a few seconds before he gave a stiff nod.

         "Move them," he ordered. Eren stared at Levi in confusion. Levi rolled his eyes. "Do I have to walk you through all of it? Haven't you ever fingered a girl before? Move them!"

         Eren was having a hard time calling up any past sexual experiences. He was so overwhelmed by Levi. Even though he had just said he wasn't a virgin, Eren sure as hell did feel like one at the moment.

         Resolving himself, Eren began to slowly move his fingers in and out. Levi's breath hitched and his eyes fluttered a bit, but he remained still, letting Eren do what he wanted. That kind of pissed Eren off; he wanted Levi twitching. He wanted it to be just like when he was being tied up for Levi. Eren jammed his fingers back in a little forcefully, causing Levi to open his eyes and look at him. Eren flicked up with one finger.

         "Ah..! You shitty brat," Levi rasped. He had really felt that. Eren had been really close to getting his spot.

         Feeling proud of himself, Eren proceeded to massage and rub that same spot with his fingers eagerly. Levi tried to keep himself still, but his body twitched violently, reacting to Eren's sweet stimulation. Any longer, and he was pretty sure he was going to cum.

         "Stop, you're gonna make me..." Levi said, putting a hand on Eren's shoulder to push him away. Eren stopped reluctantly. Levi leaned on him, breathing heavily. "Not bad, brat. Those girls taught you something at least."

         Eren didn't know why but it made him mad when Levi talked about other people when they were doing something like this. He glared at him.

         "Whoa, what's the look for? I was giving you a compliment for once, kid."

         "...I'm not a kid."

         Levi smiled smugly at him. "Yeah, you're right, you're worse than a kid. You're a brat."

         Eren shot forward, claiming Levi's mouth with his own. His kiss was sloppy and clumsy, but Levi was still stirred up from before, and he responded to Eren's kiss with an attack of his own. Levi pushed Eren all the way onto his back, straddling him as he probed Eren's mouth with his tongue, taking over completely.

         "I figure you know how to do this part," Levi said, positioning himself over Eren's cock. Eren's heart thudded in his chest. "So I'm start going to start."

         Levi slowly brought his hips down, easing Eren inside of him. Eren gasped at the feeling. It was tight and hot, just like when his fingers were in, but somehow ten times more intense. Eren shut his eyes, feeling them start to sting with tears. Why the hell was he the one crying?

         "Open your eyes."

         Eren obeyed and saw Levi's face in front of him. Eren was propped up against the pillows on the bed. Levi was using Eren's shoulders for support, holding himself slightly up so that he didn't come crashing down on Eren's dick. They were the same height this way. Eren could see straight into Levi's eyes. They were fascinating, a deep almost blue gray that felt like ice but looked like fire. Levi stared back at Eren, seeming to be searching for something.

         "What is it?" Eren couldn't help but ask.

         "Nothing... Are you okay?" Levi seemed to be avoiding the question. Eren wanted to press the issue, but instead he simply nodded. "I'm going to move then."

         Levi slowly lowered himself the rest of the way. Eren felt all of Levi's weight on him and adjusted his hips to deal with the discomfort. He glanced at Levi's face and saw a hint of a pained expression.

         "Does it hurt?" Eren asked, suddenly worried.

         Levi took a few deep breaths. "Fuck, you're big," he said through his teeth. "I can barely fucking move around."

         Eren blushed. "Sorry."

         "You're the one who's gonna be sorry for making me work this much," Levi said simply. "Prepare yourself."

         Then Levi really started to move. Eren flinched in pain at the sudden force on his hips and cock, but Levi didn't stop. He pounded himself on Eren, shifting up and down at a fast pace. He stared into Eren's eyes as he moved, making Eren feel embarrassed. Eren's hips began to go numb from Levi's relentless movements and the pain disappeared completely, replaced by intense waves of pleasure. Eren started to pant, feeling like there wasn't enough oxygen in the room. Levi was also panting. The sounds echoed and bounced off the walls. When the sweet feeling Eren had started to fade, he moved his hips to meet Levi, trying to prolong the experience. They met thrust for thrust, Levi riding Eren on the bed.

         Eren could feel himself getting closer and closer to his orgasm. He didn't want Levi to be much farther behind him, so he increased his tempo. Levi kept up easily.

         "Levi..." Eren gasped and Levi nodded.

         He leaned closer and kissed Eren, but it was different than the others. This kiss was a soft peck on the lips, and it tasted sweet. Eren felt something build up in his chest.

         "Go ahead and cum," Levi whispered in Eren's ear, and that unraveled him.

         Eren released into Levi, cum leaking from where they were connected. The slippery feeling made Eren feel embarrassed all over again. Levi eased himself up and off of Eren, allowing Eren to fall back into the pillows.

         "Wait, but you haven't..." Eren protested, attempting to sit up, but Levi pushed him down again.

         "That's because you always finish too quickly," Levi chided halfheartedly. "It's fine. I can take care of myself."

         "But..." Eren didn't like that. It made him feel like he hadn't done his part.

         "Don't go feeling like you owe me anything," Levi warned. "We aren't on equal terms. This is why you're a brat."

          Eren was getting mad. "Age has nothing to do with it!"

         "I'm not just talking about age, though that's a huge factor. We aren't on equal terms in life either. You wouldn't even know me in a normal situation."

          Eren had to agree with that. This situation they were in was definitely not normal at all.

          Levi moved to get off the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," he said, walking towards the bathroom.

          "What should I do?" Eren asked.

          "I don't own you."

          Levi shut the bathroom door and Eren heard the shower water start running. He laid on the bed, wondering what Levi had meant. _That was the equivalent of saying I could do what I wanted, right?_

          Eren knew what he wanted to do already. He got up and walked towards the bathroom. Levi was already in the shower, so he didn't hear the door open. Eren quietly shut the door and joined Levi in the shower. Levi's bathroom was ridiculously huge, and so was his shower. It easily fit the two of them inside.

          "Surprised?" Eren asked when Levi didn't say anything.

          "Not a bit," Levi said, turning around with a smirk. "In fact, I was counting on it. Now you can help me out."

           Eren was confused. "With what?"

          "Getting your fucking cum out of my body," Levi said, turning back around. "There's so much of it. Must be great to be so young."

          Eren blushed. "Sh-shut up! Maybe you're just old!"

          "Brat, you don't want to start this fight with me. You will lose."

          "Bring it on."

          Levi looked at Eren over his shoulder. The water from the shower cascaded down the side of Levi's face, making his hair stick to his face. He pushed it back with his hands, exposing his forehead and eyes at full force. He looked so seductive like that Eren could almost feel himself getting hard again. Was it fair to be that good looking?

          "Isn't the younger generation supposed to help their elders? Come on and do it."

           Eren approached Levi from behind and reached for his ass again. Everything was wet this time, so his finger slid in pretty easily. Levi flinched, his body almost jerking away from Eren. Eren looked up, surprised by his reaction. Was Levi more sensitive now?

            "Hey, Levi..."

            "Just hurry up and finish." Levi said, cutting him off. He put his hands against the shower wall and nodded that he was ready at Eren.

_This... is kind of hot._ Levi looked so submissive standing like that, Eren couldn't help but think so.

            He began to move his fingers again, up and down like before. But this time, Levi was a twitching mess, his legs barely holding himself up. He gasped a couple of times, the sound coming through his teeth like a hiss. Eren flicked his finger up and some of his cum leaked out, sliding down Levi's legs. Levi was practically convulsing, his hands balling into fists. Eren continued to rub and flick, even adding in another finger so he could widen his access. Levi reacted to every little touch, his voice getting louder.

            Finally, the last of it was out of Levi. Eren pulled all of his fingers out at once and Levi threw his head back, releasing himself all over the shower wall. He looked like his hands were about to slide right off the wet wall and Eren caught him from behind.

            Levi took a few breaths. "Now you just have to learn how to hit that spot with your dick next time and you won't have to worry about me not cumming at all," he said to Eren, patting his arm.

            Eren noticed ink on Levi's shoulder. "You have a tattoo?"

            "You just now noticed?"

            "Well, I was distracted..."

            Levi actually laughed at that, the sound low and harsh. Eren froze. "What is it?"

            "...You laughed."

            Levi shook his head. "You have to comment every single time. I must be one depressing bastard."

             "I think you're beautiful." The words were out of Eren's mouth before he even realized he had said them.

             Levi tensed in Eren's arms immediately. Eren waited for him to say something, anything. Then, he gently pulled out of Eren's embrace.

             "What guy calls another guy beautiful, you dumbass. Get out. I need to shower." He said it in a teasing tone, but the light didn't reach his eyes.

              Eren felt a pang in his chest, but shook his head. "No."

             Levi raised an eyebrow. "No?"

            "I'm not leaving when you look hurt like that. It's not good to leave people when they're in pain."

            "And who taught you that sentimental crap?"

            Eren let out a laugh without any humor. "My dad."

            Levi understood the implications of Eren's tone. He gave a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Fine, stay if you want. Pass me the shampoo over there."

            Eren smiled in relief and happily passed Levi the shampoo bottle.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there! Long time no post, am I right? I'm sorry about that, my computer sort of tried to die on me and I sent it to the shop to get fixed and well a lot of dumb stuff happened until finally I emerged victorious from the battle with my laptop again. Hopefully it works properly now, keep your fingers crossed.  
> Anyway, enough about my bullshit. That's not what you guys come here for; you're here for Eren's bullshit. And you won't be disappointed there, because things are getting super cutesy and fluffy this chapter! Enjoy!

       After they both finished their shower, Levi asked Eren if he wanted a ride home. Eren declined as casually as he could and went to sit down on the couch in the living room. Levi stared at him for a bit, and then went into the kitchen to make some tea. Eren waited, his hands clasped together nervously. He had been thinking off and on about it the past few days, but after what just happened, Eren was ready to put Historia’s advice to use.

       Levi came into the living room with two mugs of hot tea. He placed one in front of Eren and went to sit down across from him in that same chair. Eren had chosen to put back on his own boxers and shirt since they weren’t stained with cum this time. Levi was wearing a fresh pair of boxers and curiously enough, Eren’s green sweater. Seeing Levi sitting so comfortably in the sweater that smelled so much like him distracted Eren to no ends. He felt his pulse start to quicken again. Eren cleared his throat a couple of times.

       “You’re looking kind of red over there,” Levi commented, taking a gulp of the scalding hot liquid. Eren’s tongue burned just watching him down the tea like that. “You okay?”

        _Ass._ He knew what he was doing to Eren. Eren ignored Levi’s provocation and stared at his tea mug. “Levi, can I ask you something?”  
Levi caught the sudden shift in mood and nodded silently. Eren took a deep breath.

       “This… thing that we’re doing. What is it? Are we dating?” Eren asked in a rush before he could lose his nerve. He peeked up at Levi across the table.

       Levi was expressionless, holding his tea mug in that odd grip of his. Eren felt a sense of deja vu from the situation. They seemed to have all of their important conversations sitting like this. And Eren always seemed to be the one doing all the talking. But he wasn’t having any of that today.

       “Listen, kid…” Levi began, sighing a little. “I don’t think you know what you’re asking of me…”

       “I do.”

       “No, you don’t. There’s absolutely nothing to gain from dating someone like me,” Levi said gravely. “I’m sorry I’ve been dragging you along like this for so long. I wasn’t even planning to touch you at first, but there was just something about you that I started to crave… I needed to have you at least once, to get you out of my system.”

       “Maybe I don’t want you out of my system.”

       Eren looked straight into Levi’s eyes when he said that. Levi looked away first, sighing again in frustration and running a hand roughly through his bangs. Eren wanted to be the one doing that. He wanted to touch every inch of Levi’s delicious body over and over until he had it memorized. Eren was a bit scared about how strongly he felt for this older apathetic man. But that fear also made him want to hold on that much tighter.

       “What the hell… So troublesome…” Levi grumbled. “I need a cigarette before doing shit like this with you.”

       “You just smoked before I got here.”

      “That was for the sex. No one told me I was going to be having a talk, too.”

      Eren was starting to get irritated; Levi was trying to change the subject. “Levi, answer me.”

      “Fuck, this is why I hate brats,” Levi muttered, glancing over at Eren. “You’re not thinking this through. You don’t really want me.”

      Eren looked at Levi incredulously. That was about the only thing he could say for absolute certain.

      “I’m just something new and exciting for you,” Levi continued. “An interesting sexual experience for you to have. You said you’ve never been with a guy, right? I just happened to be the first. There are plenty of others.”

       Levi’s words stung. Eren shook his head furiously. “There is only one you, though. You’re irreplaceable!”

       Levi snorted at that, taking a sip of his tea. “About a million people are born every day. Trust me, I’m not irreplaceable.”

       Eren balled his fists. He knew how he felt. It infuriated him that Levi was dismissing his feelings so easily like that. He felt his eyes sting with angry hot tears and wiped them away with the back of his hand.

       “I like you.”

       Levi froze, staring at Eren with his eyebrows raised.

       “I like you, and I want to be with you. What’s wrong with that? And if you think I’m just being a hormonal teenager, that’s fine by me; I’ll prove you wrong. Date me, and see if I’m lying or not. And if you find out that my feelings aren’t serious, then just leave my ass. No strings attached.”

       Levi regarded Eren silently. “And you’re sure about this? You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

      “Give me the chance to learn. It’s not that easy for me to trust people, you know. I haven’t been wrong about the people I care about yet.”

      “There’s a first time for everything, brat.”

      Eren rolled his eyes.

      “Didn’t I tell you about that? It’s disrespectful. If you’re going to be here more often, you’d better learn my pet peeves, and learn them fast.”

      Eren’s whole face lit up. “Then, is that a yes?!”

      “Fine, whatever. We can date. But if I don’t like it, then I’m fucking done, you got it?” Levi warned. Eren nodded eagerly. Levi sighed. "Christ... I seriously need a smoke."

      He stood up and headed towards the balcony. Eren didn’t know if the fact that the first thing Levi did after agreeing to date him was smoke a cigarette was a good sign or a bad sign. He could never tell what was going on in Levi’s head. But Levi definitely was a guy that went by his own pace; he didn’t seem like he would agree to do something he didn’t want to do. So Eren figured it was fine.

      Eren stared at Levi’s profile from the balcony for a while before getting up and joining him outside. Levi was leaning over the banister, gazing out at the city lights with a blank expression on his face. It was the closest Eren had ever seen to a calm look on Levi. He sank to the floor beside Levi’s legs, staring at his feet. They shared a comfortable silence together until a thought occurred to Eren.

      “What happened today… Me getting arrested and all. Has that happened to you too? What you said to the judge…”

      Levi blew smoke out of his mouth in a sigh. “Kid, you’re defeating the point of me coming out here to smoke.”

      “Then, what was what you told the judge about me? Am I really going to do some community service project at Trost Tech?”

      “Look…”

      “And speaking of that, why didn’t you tell me that you work there? What do you do?”

      Levi ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. He glared at Eren. “Can’t this shit wait until tomorrow? You don’t need to know right this damn second, do you?”

      Eren bit his lip and looked down. “No, but… will you tell me?”

      “If it’ll get you off my back for the night, yes.”

      “Promise?”

      “I don’t make promises, brat.”

      Eren supposed he’d just have to settle for that for now. But he was still unsatisfied. “I still want to talk to you, though.”

      “Then ask me some stupid questions. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

      “Ass.”

      Levi smirked. Eren tilted his head to the side, trying to think of something to ask.

     “...What kind of cigarettes do you like?”

     “Malboro.”

     “What’s your favorite kind of tea?”

     “Green tea.”

     “Do you listen to anything besides jazz music?”

     “Not really. Some classical as well, I guess.”

     “Why are you such a clean freak?”

     “The world is fucking dirty, that’s why. Try telling me it’s not.”

      Eren stole a quick look at Levi before he asked the next question in a rush, blushing. “What do you like about me?”

      Levi didn’t say anything. Eren quickly started to feel stupid for trying to sneak in such a lame question. “I-I was just kidding, you don’t have to answer that…”

      “Your eyes.”

      Eren blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Levi to really answer him. He looked up and Levi was staring right at him, his expression impassive. Eren’s heart pounded in his chest. Levi looked so seductive like that, leaning over the edge with his chest fully exposed in Eren’s sweater. The sleeves were too long for his arms, so he had them pushed back to expose his forearms. Eren found it adorable. He reached a hand out towards Levi, suddenly craving the feel of his skin.

      Levi brought his face down, closer to Eren’s hand. He stopped just before Eren’s fingers could brush his cheek. “What? You want a drag of this?” Levi asked in a teasing voice, offering Eren his half-finished cigarette.

      “Not funny," Eren said with a frown of displeasure. “You knew what I was doing.”

      “Yeah, I did,” Levi admitted shamelessly with a slight shrug. “But I don’t particularly enjoy having my face caressed by teenagers.”

      “You’re such a-”

      Levi cut Eren off with a kiss. Eren shuddered.

      "I prefer making out," Levi said simply before going back to smoking. Eren blushed and looked down, hugging his knees.

      "How many people have you dated before?" Eren asked before he could stop himself. He chided himself silently. _Levi is a grown man, it's obvious he has dated a lot more than I have. It shouldn't matter to me at all._

       That was a lie, of course. Eren was getting a tight feeling in his chest just thinking about Levi's dating life.

       "None."

       Eren looked up in surprise. "What..?"

       "I don't like to repeat myself, brat," Levi said with an annoyed look on his face. But it was less hostile than usual somehow. Could he be... embarrassed?

       Eren covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile.

       "What are you over there grinning about?" Levi demanded hotly, smacking Eren in the forehead.

       "Ow! What was that for?!"

       "Being cheeky."

       Levi put out his cigarette in the ashtray and stood up straight, stretching his arms. Eren admired the way his muscles seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

       "Okay, I've had my smoke, and you've had your talk," Levi said, opening the sliding door and stepping back into the living room. Eren clambered to his feet and followed him inside. "Now can I take you home?"

       "Huh? But..." _I don't want to go home._

       Levi sighed. "It's almost nine already. Don't you have school or something tomorrow?"

       "I was arrested yesterday. As far as the school knows, I haven't even had my court date yet." Eren pointed out.

       Levi gave Eren an exasperated look. "I'm not going to be responsible for you skipping school."

       "And you won't be. It's my choice."

       "...I have a meeting in the morning."

       "So I'll leave then."

       Levi and Eren stared each other down from opposite ends of the living room. Finally, Levi plopped onto the couch.

       "You just don't know when to quit, do you?" he grumbled.

       Eren grinned. "Nope."

       "You're sleeping on the couch, got it?" Levi said sharply, standing back up to get a blanket and pillow. Eren's shoulders drooped.

       "Why?!"

       "Because I have to get some sleep tonight. I told you, I have a meeting."

       "I don't move around or snore, I swear! Please, Levi?" Eren begged, imploring Levi with his eyes.

       Levi was unfazed. "No."

        Upset but still feeling like he had gained a small victory in being allowed to stay at all, Eren laid out on the couch. He felt nervous at first about sleeping under the same roof as Levi, but Levi immediately retreated to his own room and Eren found his eyelids were getting heavy. He fell asleep easily, comforted by the scent of stale cigarette smoke, tea, and cleaning supplies that he was rapidly becoming familiar with.

       Eren was on the borderline of consciousness when he thought that he heard faint footsteps approaching him from somewhere. He felt a cold hand on his head, in his hair, caressing his cheek. The touch was familiar and despite his shiver, Eren smiled in his sleep.

       A faint chuckle. "You shitty brat."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, I'm back with more! For all of my friends that asked me when I was going to get around to updating the past week, I'm sorry this took so long! And for those readers whom I don't know but appreciate just as much, thank you for waiting! I hope you haven't gotten fed up with me! The semester is starting to draw to a close, and every college professor is freaking out about it and cramming tests down us poor students' throats. I am also an unfortunate victim of this tragedy. But now that everything has died down, I am taking the opportunity to post now. At first, I was going to post two chapters and take a long hiatus for Thanksgiving break and whatnot, but I changed my mind, as I often do. As my thanks to this site and it's dedicated readers, there will be a new chapter on Thanksgiving! Take a break from stuffing you face with turkey and stuff your heart with Eren x Levi feels! I might even be updating my two side stories as well...  
> Anyway, that was a lot of rambling on my part! My bad! Enjoy this chapter!

          Eren blinked a few times in the glaring sunlight. _Ugh, damn sun... I told Mikasa to stop leaving my fucking window open..._

          He pulled the covers over his head and turned his head into his pillow. Then Eren noticed that his pillow wasn't the dark blue it had always been, but light brown. Actually, it wasn't his pillow at all; it was Levi's.

          Eren sat up with a start, realizing where he was. He was in Levi's room, laying in his bed. _Wasn't I on the couch last night..?_

          Levi was nowhere to be seen. The room was completely silent, the curtains left slightly open to reveal the sun hanging high in the sky. Eren felt around in the bed absently, trying to figure out how he got there. His fingers encountered clothing and he lifted it up; it was his green sweater. A note fluttered to the ground, shaken loose from the sweater. Eren reached for it.

_You crawled into my bed and woke me up in the middle of the night. This is why I hate brats. I was going to hit you for it, but I don't like child abuse._

_Go home._

          No name, but Eren knew who it was. He groaned. It was hard to believe that Levi had agreed to date him when Eren read a note like this. There wasn’t even an ounce of affection in any of his words. Still...

          Eren smiled fondly at the note, picturing Levi writing it before heading off to work. In a way, just the gesture was a really cute thing to do.

          Before long, Eren’s phone started vibrating in his pants, which were slipping off the edge of the bed. He crawled to the edge of the bed, sleepily entering his passcode and opening the home screen. Surprisingly, there was only one notification on his screen, a text message from Mikasa. Eren was expecting his phone to be flooded with calls and angry voicemails for leaving the house without permission. Then again, considering their conversation, she probably didn’t even have to guess where he was going.

          Eren opened the text. The contents made him groan. Apparently he had work that night.

         Eren was a little nervous about coming back to work. The police station had let him inform the convenience store that he wouldn’t be coming in for a few days because he had been arrested, but honestly Eren’s head had been so many other places that he hadn’t really given a proper explanation as to why. As he walked towards the convenience store wearing his tacky uniform shirt, he clutched it in a sudden burst of affection, hoping this wouldn’t be the last time he would get to wear it.

         Eren peeked into the front door, feeling oddly hesitant.

         Reiner was flipping through a magazine like usual; he didn’t even look up when Eren opened the door. Eren was about to say something when suddenly he felt a hand shove something on his head roughly. He blinked and looked up. It was Bertolt, smiling all too innocently.

         “Payback for last time,” he said, heading for the door. “Reiner, I’m going on break, okay?”

         “Yeah, yeah,” Reiner called back with a yawn. He finally looked up at Eren, who stiffened. “Well, I didn’t know if you were coming or not. The manager had Bertolt on the schedule all this week.”

         “What? B-but…”

         “I texted Mikasa, just in case,” Bertolt explained with a wink. He, Bertolt, and Mikasa had all graduated in the same class in high school, so they hung out sometimes still. That was actually how Eren had gotten this job in the first place; Mikasa had found out they were working here and told Eren to apply.

         “Reiner… Thanks,” Eren said, feeling a bit touched that Reiner would do that for him.

         “Don’t mention it. I’m sure the manager will let you stay anyway. Who else is gonna restock?” Reiner gave Eren a knowing grin. Eren readjusted the hat on his head and rolled up his uniform shirt sleeves a little.

         “I bet you haven’t restocked once since I’ve been gone.”

         “Rude. I restocked. Once.”

         Eren snorted at that and walked outside to get started. He was finally starting to feel like his life was getting back to normal. Maybe it was even getting better, seeing as he had a boyfriend now. Eren started to turn red at the thought.

        “That sure is a creepy grin, Yeager,” Reiner commented from the counter. “Something good happen..?”

        “Sh-shut up!’

        Eren hurriedly set down the boxes of soda and dashed back outside, slapping his cheeks to get rid of his insanely wide smile. The sun colored the sky a pinkish-orange color.

         "Alright, Eren, you're good to go after you reshelf those last two boxes," Reiner said. "It's about time to clock out."

         "Got it!" Eren finished reshelving quickly.

         By the time Bertolt finished mopping the floors and Reiner counted the drawer, the manager had come to take over the graveyard shift. He gave Eren a slightly surprised look, but doesn't say anything. Eren broke into a nervous sweat.

        "You can go now," he said, dismissing them. Eren made to follow Reiner and Bertolt out. "Eren."

        Eren turned. "Yes, sir?"

        "I'll email you your schedule tonight. You won't be getting any vacation days approved for a while, what with all the time you've missed. Be prepared."

        Eren's face lit up and he smiled with relief. "Yes! Thank you very much, Mr. Woerman!"

        He scowled at Eren. "Next time, you're fired."

        Eren flinched. "Yes, sir..."

        Once they were outside, Reiner let out a big sigh. "Oh man, I thought he was gonna fire your ass for sure!"

        "What?! But I thought you said-"

        "Look, all I did was text Mikasa the schedule. I didn't know if it would work or not."

        "What the hell, man!"

        "Well thank goodness everything turned out okay in the end," Bertolt interjected, smiling a little in relief.

        "I guess that's true..." Eren relented, smiling a little himself.

        "And now we'll finally be able to get a break from work," Reiner said. He captured Eren's head in an arm hold and ruffled his hair. "I've got a paper due tomorrow that I haven't even started because of you!"

        "Wah-! Stop it! You know you wouldn't have done the damn thing if you were off anyways!" Eren yelled back.

        "Why, you cheeky little- Accept your punishment!" Reiner proceeded to give Eren a vicious noogie.

        "You two, please..." Bertolt sighed.

        The three of them walked down the road like that for a while until they got to the intersection. Reiner and Bertolt lived in the opposite direction of both the park and Eren's apartment, so this was where they would part ways.

        "Bertolt and I were thinking about having a little get together this weekend," Reiner said. "You and Mikasa feeling up to some drinking?"

        Eren hadn't been at their place in a while, and relaxing with a couple of beers did sound nice, but... "I'm sorry, guys, I can't. I kind of have plans."

        "What? With who, Armin? Just bring him along like you always do."

        "Not with Armin..."

        "Then who? You got yourself a girlfriend or something now?"

        Eren hesitated. "Well, not exactly a girlfriend..."

        Reiner opened his mouth to say something else, but then Bertolt got it. He started blushing and put a hand on Reiner's shoulder. Reiner's eyes widened.

        "...Oh. Not a girlfriend, then."

        Eren nodded.

        "Well does this guy not like alcohol or something? Bring him. Tell Armin to come too. I haven't had a party in a long time, and I'm not taking no for an answer!" Reiner said, all smiles.

        Eren thought about it. Levi and him were dating now, even if it was just a trial... Was it okay to introduce him to his friends?

        "Okay, I'll ask him," Eren said with a slight nod.

        "Great! See ya later!" Reiner said happily. "Come on, Bert, I'm beat."

        Bertolt waved goodbye to Eren before turning and following Reiner across the street. Eren watched them go, feeling slightly unsure of his decision. But he was also excited.

        _"My boyfriend is going to meet my friends"; that's such a strange idea. First off, Levi doesn't even seem like he likes people in general. And then there's Mikasa..._

         Eren gasped, suddenly realizing the weight of what was going to happen. Levi and Mikasa would actually be in the same room for an extended period of time. Was that going to be okay?

          _Oh shit._

__

         Eren opened the door hesitantly, peeking at the key hooks to see if Mikasa was home. Her car keys dangled from the middle hook, indicating she was in fact home. He took a nervous breath and closed the door behind him as quietly as possible.

         "Hey, Eren," Armin said, coming into the living room. Eren stopped. Damn it!

         Mikasa poked her head from behind the kitchen wall. "Welcome back," she said in a monotone. "I'm making chicken fried rice."

         "Oh, cool!" Eren said with a relieved smile. _So she's not mad..._

         "I didn't know if you were actually gonna show up this time, though. So I didn't make you any."

_Nevermind. She's mad._

         Eren dropped his head and sat on the couch next to Armin. He gave Eren a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, I'll give you some of mine."

         "Nah, don't worry about it," Eren said. "I'm not really hungry."

          He was too worried about how he was going to ask Levi about the party to put food in his mouth. Eren could just picture Levi saying no. He would probably take it a step farther and complain. And not to mention the fact that Mikasa would be there, too. Eren still wasn't sure how Mikasa felt about Levi exactly. For now, she seems to have accepted the situation, but that didn't mean she would be nice.

         Mikasa brought out three bowls of chicken fried rice from the kitchen and practically forced Eren's share in his hands. He ate mechanically on the couch, barely responsive to anyone as they all sat and watched TV. Armin and Mikasa knowingly left Eren to his thoughts; when he got like that, nothing anyone said could get his attention.

         "Thanks for the food," Eren said when he was finished, rising from the couch. He washed out his bowl and retreated to his room for the night.

          A few minutes later, there was a knock on Eren's door. "Eren? Can I come in?" Armin called out.

          "Yeah, go ahead."

          Armin opened the door hesitantly. "Sorry, were you going to bed?"

          Eren shook his head. "Nah. Too much stuff on my mind."

          Armin sat on Eren's bed beside him and reached out a hand. Eren smiled a little and took it. They shared a pleasant silence together for a moment before Armin turned and studied Eren's face.

          "It's about him, isn't it? About Levi?" Armin asked. "Tell me about it. I might be able to help."

          Eren thought about it. Armin was in a relationship, even if it was with Jean; maybe he could give Eren some advice.

          "Okay," Eren conceded, taking a calming breath. "Well, I am kind of dating him now..."

          "What?!" Armin exclaimed, immediately releasing Eren's hand with a blush. "When did that happen?! How?!"

          "It wasn't really planned... I sort of just blurted out my feelings to him after we did it..."

           Armin's impossibly red face got even redder. "Y-you mean, you... and he... Y-you two...!!"

           Eren averted his eyes, getting a little embarrassed himself. "Yes?"

           Armin opened his mouth a few times but couldn't form words. "That's... That's..."

           "Look, Armin, I know it probably wasn't a goo-"

           "That's great!" Armin said happily, much to Eren's surprise. "I'm really happy that everything worked out for you two! So you're finally dating. That's really good, Eren."

           Armin's face looked sincere as he congratulated Eren. It made Eren really happy for some reason. But... We aren't really going out yet. It's just a trial.

           "So why have you seemed so down then?" Armin asked, looking at Eren with concern. "Did something else happen?"

           Eren sighed. Nothing got past Armin, after all. He explained about the party to Armin, and his worries about Levi meeting everyone as his "boyfriend". Especially Mikasa. Armin listened to the end, nodding slowly.

            "I see. So that's what's going on..." Armin said, folding his arms.

            "So what should I do?" Eren asked.

            "Well, for starters, you should learn to close your door," Mikasa said suddenly from the doorway. "I can hear you two all the way in my room."

            The blood drained from Eren's face. "Mikasa, I..."

            "Look, I already told you. If you trust that guy, I won't say anything else about it, whether you're dating him or whatever." Mikasa's face hardened. "But that doesn't mean I have to like the guy."

            With that said, Mikasa closed Eren's door. Eren and Armin looked at each other.

            "Problem solved, I think?" Armin said, trying to be encouraging.

            Eren didn't respond. He just put his face in his hand and groaned.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Thanksgiving! Before you even say anything, I know what I promised for Thanksgiving and frankly, I was an idiot for trying to promise anything at all. Sorry about that, and just remind me never to do it again. Also, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of the comments I get on my fic, good and bad. it really means a lot to me that anyone would take the time to say something directly to me about my writing because I am always trying to improve myself. I would also like it if I could get to know my readers better, so please follow me on tumblr if you want, and leave a message in my ask box saying you read my fic so that I will follow you back so I can see where your interests lie. You can also just ask me questions or make more private comments about the story if you would like. My tumblr name is ramenchick10 (not ramenchick; someone beat me to it).  
> Anyway, I'm not going to hold you guys up with my pointless chatter any longer. Proceed and enjoy!

          Eren didn't know what he had been expecting to happen after confessing to Levi. The world coming to an end, maybe, or dealing with the crushing despair of being rejected. He definitely hadn’t been expecting Levi to say yes. And the most unexpected thing was how fast life just went back to normal after that.

          After skipping a day, Eren went back to school. The rumor of him getting arrested had already circulated throughout Shinganshina, so Eren was basically avoided by everyone but his friends in class 104. Connie made a bunch of prisoner jokes centering around the safety of Eren’s butthole, and Sasha simply wanted to know what prison food was like. Jean never said a word about it, much to Eren’s surprise; Armin must have talked to him. Jean just nodded at Eren with a strange look on his face and made some half-assed comment about him skipping school to avoid taking yesterday’s test before grabbing Armin’s hand and retreating out of the classroom together to go eat lunch on the roof like usual. Mr. Shadis gave Eren the work he missed while he was out and informed Eren of his mandatory meeting with the school’s counselor on Friday. The bell rang, Eren grabbed his backpack, and left. He went to work and chatted with Reiner about the party again, and then he went home. Right before he went to bed, Eren checked his phone. He had texted Levi that morning, telling him that he had made it home alright and wishing him good luck at his meeting. There was no reply.

         There wasn't a reply the next day, either. Or the next. Eren had started checking his phone every spare moment, waiting for Levi to answer. He was starting to get worried. _I couldn't have imagined that whole thing, right? We had sex, and then I confessed, and now we’re going out. I didn't dream that last part, right?_

         “Waiting for a text?” Armin asked, coming up to Eren’s desk. Eren put his phone in his pocket and looked away in embarrassment. “Is he not responding?”

         Eren twitched, giving himself away. Armin smiled and sat at the empty desk next to Eren. “I’m sure he’s just busy. Unlike you, Levi is a working adult. He probably barely has any time to check his email, let alone his text messages.”

         Eren sighed. “I know,” he mumbled. “I know that, but…”

         “It just doesn't feel real, huh?” Armin guessed. Eren looked up at him in surprise. Armin shrugged. “I know the feeling. It was like that when Jean and I started dating, too. I just didn’t feel like we were actually dating because everything felt so… _normal_. I was expecting the whole world to start changing colors or something, but nothing really different happened. But, you know, I kind of like that feeling now.”

         Eren looked at Armin dubiously. “You do?”

         “Yeah. It means I’m just that comfortable with him. Our relationship didn't change my entire world because it naturally fit into my world. Being with Jean is just nice and easy.” Armin said that last part with a satisfied smile.

         Eren was about to smile as well, but he stopped himself. “Okay, stop. If you keep talking about Horseface like that, I’m going to start to think he’s actually a decent human being.”

         “He is decent!” Armin protested.

         “No, you’re right. He’s on his way to becoming a majestic stallion.”

         “Shut up!”

         Eren laughed. He had to admit, he did feel a little bit better after talking to Armin. _Easy and natural, huh? Maybe I’ll try it out._

         Eren didn't have work that night, so he decided to call Levi and ask if he could come over. Eren went out into the hallway and dialed Levi’s number. His foot tapped nervously as he counted the rings. After the fifth ring, Levi picked up the phone.

         “What?”

         Eren froze. He hadn't heard Levi’s voice in a couple of days, so his heart started hammering in his chest. “H-hey, Levi…”

         “What do you want, brat? I’m busy.”

         “Oh, sorry. Were you doing something?”

         “That’s usually what someone means when they say the word ‘busy’.”

         Eren tried to suppress his rage. _Just calm down… You knew he was an ass going into this…_ “Well, I was wondering if I could come over tonight..?”

         “Tonight’s not a good time.” Levi’s voice was flat and emotionless.

         “What are you doing tonight?” Eren asked in an annoyed voice. He was getting fed up with this conversation.

         “It doesn't really matter what I’m doing, does it? I’m busy.”

         “But-!”

         “I believe I've already told you that I hate repeating myself, kid. And seeing as I've had to repeat myself twice, plus a third time to remind you of something I've already told you, I’m ending this conversation.”

         "Wai- Levi?!"

          Eren stood dumbfounded in the hallway, listening to the beep of the dead line on the other end of the phone. Levi had hung up on him.

           “Eren, do you have work tonight?” Armin asked. The bell had just rang signaling the end of the school day, and they were packing up to leave. Armin usually left immediately to walk with Jean to the student council room, but for some reason he stayed today.

           “No,” Eren answered, slightly puzzled. “Aren't you late to meet up with Horseface?”

           “His name isn’t… Nevermind,” Armin said, giving up with a sigh. “Jean's father is having an important press conference, and he needs to be there for support."

           "So, he's there to make his dad look good," Eren commented, rolling his eyes.

           "Eren, please."

           "Whatever." Eren stood up from his desk, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

           "Where are you going?" Armin asked, following him out the door. "Eren, did something happen?"

            Eren knew what had happened with Levi earlier wasn't Armin's fault. Armin hadn't told him to call Levi on the phone and bug him about coming over. But right now, Eren was angry at his best friend for opening his big mouth in the first place.

            "Yeah, Armin, something happened," Eren snapped, turning around and glaring at Armin. But you know what? I don't want to talk about it. So why don't you go on home, text your rich boyfriend, and stick your advice up your ass, okay? I'm fucking sick of you shoving your perfect relationship in my face."

            Armin’s face contorted in shock and pain, but he quickly got a hold of himself, fixing his face into an impassive mask. “Fine,” he said simply, hiking his bag further up on his shoulder. “See you at the house.”

            He tried to make his voice sound indifferent, but Eren knew he was lying. And he felt like the biggest asshole alive.

            “Dammit..!” Eren muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair and turning away. He walked the opposite direction of Armin, away from the school and from their apartment. Eren’s feet carried him towards the one place that took all his muddled thoughts away, if only for a moment.

            He headed for the park.

     

            Eren sank onto his usual bench. It was still light out, the sun only just beginning to set, but the park was relatively empty with no noisy children or joggers passing by. Though Eren couldn't even enjoy the solitude, his mood was so bad.

            Not wanting to think of anything, Eren leaned his head back and tried gazing at the sun for as long as he could without blinking his eyes. His eyes started to burn and spots danced in his eyes, but he stubbornly kept staring until his vision started to black and his eyes began to water. Eren looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose. He let the hot tears slide down his face and closed his eyes.

            “I’m such an idiot…”

            “Well, yeah. Who tries to have a staring contest with the sun?”

            Eren bolted up. Hanji stood before him, staring at him curiously. She was wearing the same lab coat from before and her glasses dangled from her neck on that same silver chain. She held Rover’s leash loosely in one hand, Rover himself standing beside her feet, sniffing the ground.

            “H-Hanji?” Eren asked in surprise. Hanji grinned at him.

            “So you remembered me!” she said happily. “And you’re Eren, right? Levi’s little cutie? Those eyes of yours are as pretty as ever. You really should let me examine you one of these days. It won’t take that long at all… unless I find something.”

            Eren smiled at her uneasily. He couldn't keep up with what this woman was saying at all. What kind of person casually talked about human experimentation like that? Last time he checked, that was definitely illegal. “I’ll think I’ll have to pass on that…”

            “Aw, why?” Hanji whined, pouting her lips. “It won’t hurt at all! Aren't you curious at all as to how you got those eyes?”

            Eren blinked and looked up at Hanji. “As far as I know, these are the eyes I was born with…”

            “As far as you know,” Hanji repeated with a knowing look. “But I want to know much more than that! No matter how you look at it, those are a wolf’s eyes!”

            Eren highly doubted that. _I mean, if that’s the case, someone would have said something, right?_

            Hanji’s eyes were starting to get a scary gleam in them. Eren figured it was time for a subject change. “So, Hanji, what are you doing here?”

            Hanji titled her head to the side. “Isn't it obvious? I’m walking Rover.”

            Eren bit his lip and looked at the ground. That was his job, wasn't it? Was Levi already replacing him? And on the phone earlier, his voice had been so cold and dismissive. Was Levi already tired of having some annoying guy around him all the time? He probably just wanted to hook up, then Eren got all of these stupid ideas in his head and forced him into agreeing to stuff that he didn't really want to do. _Now Levi is just going to brush me off and ignore me until I get the picture…_

            “Woah, there! Why am I feeling like the air is getting super depressing over here?” Hanji said. She went to sit beside Eren on the bench, letting go of Rover’s leash. The dog barked happily and took off down the sidewalk.

            “Hey, is that okay?!” Eren exclaimed in a panic, about to jump up and run after Rover.

            Hanji grabbed hold of Eren’s shoulder and lightly pushed him back down. “It’s fine. I let him go like that all the time. He’s a smart boy; he’ll be back when he’s had his fun.”

            Eren doubted that, but he nodded anyway.

            Hanji let out a contented sigh and casually reached out an arm to pull Eren towards her. He resisted at first in surprise, but relaxed into Hanji’s touch. It was a warm, affectionate gesture, with no malice or questions. It had been a long time since he felt this calm in another person’s arms. They stayed like that for a while, watching the sky turn slightly pink as the sun started setting, Eren’s favorite time to be at the park. Hanji played with Eren’s messy brown mop of hair, curling strands around her fingers. Eren’s breath became slow and even. Hanji smelled strongly like disinfectant, which he supposed should alarm him.

            “So, you gonna tell me about it?” Hanji asked all of a sudden.

           Eren stiffened. He knew this was coming.

           “It’s about Levi, isn't it? What has that idiot done this time?”

           “He hasn't _done_ anything…”

           “Ah, so that’s the problem.”

           Eren didn't know if he liked being so easily readable by this woman. He used to think it was just Armin who could do that, but lately everyone had been accurately guessing his moods. Was he that obvious all the time?

           Hanji smirked and continued to play with Eren's hair. "I see why he likes you, kiddo. You have this fiery passion about you, like everything matters. I think Levi wishes that he could be like that. Even before I left his place, he was-"

           Hanji abruptly stopped talking. Eren's head had snapped up, out of her reach, and he was staring hard at her face.

           "What did you say?"

           Hanji blinked in confusion. "Wh-what?"

           "Where is Levi, right now?" Eren's voice was low and threatening. Hanji could feel herself getting goosebumps from the murderous look in his eyes. She silently wondered just how badly Levi had fucked up this time.

           "H-he's at home, cleaning. He always goes mad cleaning his place when we have the same day off so he can push Rover onto me..."

           "He has the day off?!!"

           Eren jumped off the bench at that and immediately started walking away.

           "Eren! Eren, what's going on?! Wait up!" Hanji called frantically, but Eren ignored her.

            _I can't believe this! How dare he? What complete and utter bullshit! "I'm busy", my ass!_

           Eren couldn't even think straight, he was so mad. He left the Wall Park and headed straight for the subway station, with one destination in mind.

**  
  
**

  

             


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with more! Finals week is fast approaching, and I'm probably going to be rapid posting until it's over with. Procrastination is my life, after all. Also, thank you believeinfate32 and livefreediebeautiful for following me on tumblr! I actually cried tears of happy joy when I saw your messages on my page. Everyone can thank you guys for this next chapter coming to me so quickly!

           Eren didn't even knock. He just opened the front door and barged into the hallway.

           "Levi!" he yelled, his anger peaking. He marched from room to room, searching for those infuriatingly perfect bangs and that annoyingly perfect body. "Levi!"

           Eren got to Rover's play room and stopped dead. There Levi was, bent over the large bed cushion that served as Rover's sleeping space, vacuuming the cushion vigorously. He wore a face of pure concentration, trying to get every single strand of hair from the tan cushion with the vacuum suction. Eren would have thought the scene was hilarious if he wasn't so angry.

           "Levi," he called again. Eren meant for his voice to sound stern, but it just sounded childish. He gritted his teeth, feeling hopelessly frustrated.

            Levi lifted his head slightly and turned off the loud vacuum. "What the hell, Hanji? I told you to take him out for at least two hours..." He stopped when he noticed Eren in the doorway. His brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

             Eren knew that Levi was asking a perfectly fair question. Of course he wanted to know what Eren was doing there. Levi hadn't left his door unlocked so that he could just come in without permission. This wasn't even Eren's house. But Eren couldn't think logically at the moment. He felt like Levi's question was attacking him personally. He felt like Levi was wondering what the hell Eren was doing in his life at all.

             And he snapped. "What about you? What the fuck are you doing right now? Is this supposed to be 'busy' to you? What a load of fucking bull! So you didn't want to see my face that much?! You had to tell me some cheap ass lie just to get rid of me?! Is that it, huh?"

            Eren sounded bitchy and psycho and was being totally out of line. He knew that in the back of his head, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was make Levi understand how crappy he was feeling right then. And that it was all his fault.

            Levi sighed and slowly stood up. He looked at Eren without pity, like a parent would at a child throwing a temper tantrum. That look of his irritated Eren, like everything else about him was at the moment. _Why the hell is he even wearing a bandanna to clean? Does it even help? Is he that afraid of getting his own hair on the stuff in his own place?_

            "Look, brat," Levi said, his voice low and threatening. Eren stiffened despite himself; Levi was seriously angry. "I don't appreciate people coming into my apartment without permission. Nor do I much appreciate being yelled at by a barely legal emotional little fuck who obviously doesn't know his place."

            "You're right," Eren mumbled. "I don't know my place. Why don't you explain it to me clearly? What am I to you? Why can't I see you after school when you're not even working and spend time with you, like a normal couple would?"

            Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance and tried to walk past Eren out of the room. But Eren grabbed his arm. "Levi-!"

            "Don't fucking touch me!" Levi snapped harshly, ripping his arm out of Eren's grip. Eren's eyes widened. "That's all you guys want anyway! You want to touch, and you want to fuck, and you want to infect me with every fiber of your being, and then you leave when you're done! That's all you want! You call, wanting to 'hang out' or 'spend some time together', which just means sex!"

            Eren blinked, shocked by Levi's sudden outburst. He didn't think he had ever heard Levi yell before. But strangely, it woke Eren up. _Is that what he thought I wanted this whole time?_

            Eren approached Levi again and grabbed his hands. Levi struggled at first, but Eren held firmly, staring straight into Levi's eyes. Levi fidgeted uncomfortably.

            "What?" he demanded hotly.

            "You're wrong, you know," Eren said softly. "I'm not like that at all."

            "Don't start with some bullshit excuse, okay? I know what you called me for, you just-"

            "Levi, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to come to a party with me."

            Eren watched Levi's face as he slowly processed what he has just said. "Wh-what..?"

            "I..." Eren blushed a little, but steeled himself and continued in a rush. "I wanted you to meet my friends, a-and my sister. I wanted to introduce you... You know, as my boyfriend."

           "You... Seriously?" Levi said incredulously, his eyes widening in shock. His dumbstruck face was so priceless that Eren had to smile.

           "Seriously."

           "What kind of embarrassing shit... Do you know how old I am, kid? How would it look, me drinking and partying with a bunch of minors?"

            Eren tilted his head in thought. "Actually, I don't know how old you are."

            "...34."

            "Holy crap. That's..." _That's a seventeen year difference, isn't it?_

            Levi looked away unhappily. "Don't fucking say it. If you do, I'll punch you."

            "I wasn't going to say anything, anyway. I don't mind." Eren insisted, inching closer to Levi's face. Levi's face was slightly flushed. "Don't be embarrassed."

            "One more word. I'll kick you in the balls, I swear."

            Eren rolled his eyes at Levi's stubbornness. Instead of words, Eren kissed Levi. He had to bend his head to reach Levi's lips fully, and the angle made it easy to stick his tongue in and lick the entire inside of Levi's mouth. Levi didn't move, but chased Eren's tongue with his own. They were still holding hands, and Eren laced his fingers through Levi's as he pressed himself even closer.

             Levi broke the kiss first. Eren hungrily went for his neck instead, sloppily biting and sucking. Levi tried to back away, but Eren squeezed his hands to keep him in place.

            "You horny brat," Levi gasped out between Eren's kisses. "What happened to you just wanted to ask me to the party? Didn't you accomplish your goal?"

           "You haven't answered me yet."

           "Well get your damn lips off me so I can."

           "Just a little more..." Eren was so relieved that Levi didn't hate him. He just wanted to bask in this a bit longer.

           "No, now." Levi pushed with a little more force. Eren reluctantly released Levi and took a step back. He looked Eren over and chuckled darkly. "Liar. Who didn't come here to fuck again?"

           Eren knew exactly where Levi was looking and tried to stop blushing. _It's not like I planned for any of this to happen. This is a totally normal physical reaction to kissing someone you're sexually attracted to!_

           "This is why I hate brats. They only want one thing."

            Now Eren was getting pissed again. "You're wrong."

            "Oh? Am I?"

            "You are!"

            "Prove it."

            Eren faltered at that. _Prove it? How?_ "I... I won't touch you for a whole week!"

            Levi smirked at that. "For a whole week? That's a long time, kid. Think you can do it?"

            "I can!" Eren insisted. "It's not like that's the only thing I think about, okay? I want you, not the sex I get from you!"

            Levi didn't say anything. Then he walked over to Eren and pulled him by the back of his neck. Levi's lips crashed onto Eren's roughly. Eren whimpered; he had missed the brusque way that Levi kissed him after only a couple days. Levi’s tongue swiftly moved around inside Eren’s mouth with controlled and sensual strokes, completely different than Eren’s sloppy probing from before. When he started to feel his legs losing strength, Levi slowly pulled away, ruffling Eren’s hair as he did. Eren tried to clear his hazy mind as he began to notice that the problem Levi had pointed out earlier was getting uncomfortable. Levi looked down.

            “Already? You didn’t even last five minutes, brat.”

            Eren was blushing and stammering as he tried to defend himself. “Th-that’s not fair! _You_ touched _me_! A-and if you just point me to a bathroom you haven’t cleaned yet, I can take care of this myself…”

           “They’re all clean.”

           “O-oh.” Eren fidgeted, unable to take the embarrassment of his situation any longer. “Then, I’ll just go…”

           “Eren.”

           Eren was attempting to back away from Levi towards the door, but Levi’s voice stopped him. “Wh-what is it?”

           “It’s fine as long as I’m the one touching you, right?”

           Eren froze. He didn’t think he could blush any harder.

           Then, they both heard the unmistakable click of the door handle opening. The blood immediately drained from Eren’s face. Without a word, Levi started shoving Eren towards the guest bathroom. He pushed Eren in hurriedly.

           “If you get even a drop of cum on my fucking tiles, I’ll end you,” Levi warned in a menacing voice before slamming the door shut.

           “Eren!! Levi!!” yelled an all too familiar voice suddenly, accompanied by the barking of a dog.

           “Hanji, quit yelling so loudly in someone else’s house,” Levi answered. Eren could hear them clearly down the hall from the bathroom.

           “Levi? Where’s Eren?” Hanji’s question caused Eren to tense up.

           “In the bathroom,” Levi answered curtly. Eren could hear his footsteps passing by the door, headed for the living room. The sound of Hanji and Rover’s steps followed. “Anyway, why are you back so early? I thought I told you to keep the mutt occupied for at least three hours so I could clean.”

           “Well, yeah, but…”

           Eren tuned out their conversation, trying to concentrate on breathing evenly to get his erection to fade. It wasn’t going well though; everything in this bathroom smelled like disinfectant and had a slight hint of stale cigarette smoke, reminding him that Levi had just been in here, wearing that shirt and those thin boxers that drove Eren crazy. He had been standing exactly where Eren as standing, except he had been bent over, his ass perfectly curved as he scrubbed the bathtub, probably stretching to reach the other end of it and exposing his toned midsection while he was doing it…

           “Eren sure is taking a long time, isn’t he?” Hanji said suddenly, snapping Eren out of his fantasy.

           “Yeah,” Levi agreed. “He had better _hurry up_.”

           Eren looked down at his still raging dick. _Shit._

__

          "It's about fucking time," Levi commented dryly as Eren entered the living room and sat down.

          "Are you okay?" Hanji asked in a concerned voice. "You were in there for an awfully long time."

          Eren blushed and nodded. "I'm fine."

          Hanji eyed him for a bit longer, then she shrugged and turned back to Levi. "So, what have you done this time, Levi? Eren was really upset when I ran into him at the park."

          "H-Hanji, it's fine now, really..."

          "No," Hanji said sternly, silencing Eren with a look. "I want to know what happened. Eren looked like he was about to cry. Levi, you need to take better care of him than that."

          Levi sighed. "Hanji, I don't really think this is any of your business."

          "Don't you dare! Not after all those times I held you while you cried over your own heartbreak. You should know exactly how that feels."

          Levi's jaw set in irritation and he looked away from Hanji. Eren wondered what she had meant. He could hardly imagine Levi crying about anything, let alone about someone else.

          "There was just a bit of a misunderstanding," Levi said after a pause. "But Eren and I have cut a deal."

          Hanji blinked. "A deal?"

          Levi nodded. "And as long as he wins, I'll admit I was wrong."

           "You? Say sorry?" Hanji said with a snort. "Now I've heard it all. What's the deal?"

           "Eren and I can't have s-"

           "We don't really have to tell her all that, do we?!" Eren interrupted loudly, jumping up from his seat to cover Levi's mouth.

            Levi glowered at him. "You better have washed your hands, brat."

            Eren rolled his eyes.

            "Did you just..?"

            "Well, it looks like whatever happened is fixed anyway," Hanji said, standing suddenly. "So I'm leaving now. Bye, guys."

            Eren stood as well. "Wait, I'll go too!"

            "Eren."

            Eren stopped at the sound of Levi calling his name. "Yes?"

            "I don't mind if you stay."

            Eren's heart started pounding in an instant. Every fiber in his being wanted to stay, so that he could be near Levi for just a bit longer.

            "That is... If you can control yourself."

            Eren blushed. _This bastard! He is just toying with me!_

            "No, I think I'll go," Eren replied hotly. "I'll text you the details about the party."

            Levi actually smiled at that, almost taking Eren's breath away even though he knew it was just a ploy. "I can't wait."

            Eren and Hanji said goodbye to Rover before leaving Levi's flat. They boarded the elevator together. Hanji turned to Eren as soon as the doors closed.

            "So what's this about a party? And you're taking Levi to it?"

            Eren nodded weakly. "Some of my friends are getting together, and they want to meet him."

           Hanji laughed. "They'll be in for a surprise, won't they? Levi isn't exactly a social butterfly. I still can't believe he's dating you."

           Eren stiffened. "We're not exactly dating... I mean, we are, but we're not..."

           Hanji patted Eren on the head. "Sweetie, trust me. Levi doesn't let them sleep over or make them food or any of that. And, he also doesn't let people into his house when he's cleaning. You're the first."

           Eren tried not to let Hanji's words make him too happy. But he couldn't stop a small smile from escaping.

           They exited the elevator and walked outside. Eren turned and looked at The Castle one last time. He could almost make out the very top of the middle tower, where Levi was.

           "Hanji, about what you were saying before..." Eren started to say, looking at Hanji. "What did you mean by 'heartbreak'? I mean, you just said I was Levi's first."

           Hanji gave Eren an apologetic smile. "Sorry, kiddo. This is not mine to tell you."

           They parted ways in front of the subway station, Eren still wondering about what Hanji had meant. Then, he stopped in his tracks. A cold fear gripped his heart as a thought he quickly tried to forget entered his mind.

          _Just because I'm his first boyfriend... doesn't mean he never had a first love._

           

          

          

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no post, am I right? Sorry about that guys! I was working on putting some new chapters in my side stories. Check those out if you haven't already! Enjoy the tantalizing thought process of our lovely Levi, some more of Hanji and Erwin for those that feel deprived, oh and a whole side series dedicated to the adorable Armin and Jean. (Unless, of course, you don't like any of this, then don't I guess?)  
> Soooo, I'm sure you guys are all excited for that party by now, huh? Well, GET READY FOR... Another chapter that is not the party. Heh. Sorry again. We are getting close, I promise!

          Eren’s eyes shifted to the clock on the wall. His leg tapped impatiently, matching the beat of the ticking. _Only fifteen more minutes… Fifteen, and I can go…_

          “Something wrong, Yeager?”

          Eren groaned internally. “No, Miss Rico,” he drawled in a bored voice. “I was just trying to dredge up the most personal and traumatizing moments of my childhood so you can analyze them and tell me I’m crazy.”

          The school counselor tried to hide her annoyance, adjusting her glasses so that they rested on the exact same place on her nose. “I believe I’ve told you to call me Dr. Brzenska.”

          She looked up at Eren as she said this, her icy stare effectively sending a chill down Eren’s spine. Miss Rico Brzenska was a petite blonde woman, which was a surprising pick for the counselor of Shiganshina High School. The school wasn’t exactly dangerous, but had a diverse enough population of students to attract some serious delinquents. Whenever Eren had passed Miss Rico in the hallway, he would vaguely wonder how she could handle the tough guys who were forced to receive school counseling. Now he knew. Despite her small stature, this woman was not to be trifled with. Her cold dark blue eyes were like daggers when she stared at you through the rims of her glasses. It made Eren feel uncomfortable, like he was being dissected on a medical table. _She’s a doctor alright._

          “Sorry… _Dr. Brzenska_ ,” Eren said, pouring every ounce of sarcasm he had in saying her name. She may be intimidating, but he would be damned if he was going to let it show!

          Miss Rico crossed her legs and consulted her notes. “Back to the actual topic at hand, you were going to tell me about any past events I should know about. And, please, spare me the intimate details of your childhood. I’m your counselor, not a damn shrink; I don’t do these sessions to fix you.”

          Eren smiled a bit. He had heard something like that before. “Then why am I here?”

          “Because you were told to be,” she answered simply. _Good point._ “Now, you’ve listened to me prattle on about the dangers of substance abuse for almost an hour. I think we’ve stalled enough time. I’d like to hear you speak for a bit. And you can stop staring at the clock, because I won’t let you leave until you do.”

          Eren sighed in annoyance. “Look, I don’t do drugs, okay? That entire arrest was a misunderstanding, and I don’t know what else you want me to say. Can I just go?”

          “Regardless of whether or not you were actually guilty, we are still going to see each other for a while, so I might as well learn something about you,” Miss Rico said. “Like, for instance, if you simply have the worst luck imaginable, or if you are just stupid enough to be wandering around inside those walls at that time of night.”

          “...are you calling me stupid?”

          “I never said that.”

          “I had a reason for being there, you know.”

          “And that reason was?”

          “...I fell asleep on the bench.”

          “And that was supposed to be a defensive statement?”

          “Shut up.”

          “So, let me see if I’ve got this right,” Miss Rico said, giving Eren a look before reading her notes out loud. “You skipped school so that you could go sleep on a park bench, and awoke to find yourself inexplicably involved in a drug deal?”

          Eren tried not to feel embarrassed, hearing his terrible decisions read out loud like that. “Well, not exactly like that, but… yes?”

          Miss Rico let out a dry chuckle. “Personally, I think you should just go with the addicted to drugs story. Sounds much more realistic. And why, if you really had nothing to do with it, would you be immediately be arrested? No questions, no due processing, just thrown right in jail, just like that.”

          “That’s because those pricks hate me!” Eren shouted back, jumping up from his seat. “They wanted me out of the picture!”

          “Now, this is interesting. The police framed you, huh? What could you possibly have done to deserve that?”

          Eren’s anger immediately deflated as he sank back down into his chair, fumbling with what to say next. _I mean, I can’t exactly tell her that I beat up two police officers…_

          Miss Rico smiled in amusement at Eren’s hesitation. “Why did you stop? Your story was just getting good.”

          “It’s not a story,” Eren mumbled bitterly. She was just mocking him. “Fuck this.”

          Eren stood up, grabbing his backpack and slinging it on his shoulder. He started for the door. Miss Rico gaped at him and scrambled up from the sofa. “Wait, where do you think you’re  going?! This session isn’t over yet!”

          Eren ignored her completely, leaving the counseling room behind in a flurry of angry steps. The hallway was empty since school had ended almost an hour ago, filled with nothing but the sound of his footsteps.

          Eren didn’t have work that night since he had switched shifts with Bertolt. He dreaded going into that convenience store first thing in the morning, but Eren was sure having something to do all day would help calm his nerves. He hadn’t seen or talked to Levi in days, and was starting to get jittery. Armin had agreed to hang out with him after school until the bet was over, and so far, Eren was resisting the urge to go over to Levi’s place. Eren had thought about at least sending his older boyfriend a text to see how he was doing, but he was determined to win this bet.

          “Eren!” Armin called. He was waiting by the school entrance reading a book. Eren walked over to him.

          “What are you still doing here?” Eren asked in surprise.

          “Waiting for you, obviously,” Armin pointed out with a friendly smile. “Come on, let’s go home! You don’t have work tonight, right? Let’s rent a movie.”

          “You don’t have any plans with you-know-who?”

          Armin made a face. “Eren, he has a name. It’s Jean.”

          “At least I didn’t call him Horseface.”

          “You’re hopeless,” Armin scolded, shaking his head. But he was still smiling. “And no, we don’t have any plans. I’ll see him all day tomorrow anyway. Tonight is just me, you, Mikasa, and the Chinese takeout she better be bringing us.”

          Eren smiled back. Armin was a great friend. Truth be told, Eren _had_ been a little worried about what he was going to do all alone that night. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

          They stopped by a rental place close to the subway station on the way home and rented a couple of mindless action movies. Eren and Armin arrived home to find Mikasa already in the living room in her usual post-working outfit of sweatpants and an oversized shirt, stuffing her face with Chinese noodles.

          “Welcome home,” she said through a bites.

          “I hope you saved some for us,” Eren commented, tossing the DVDs onto the couch and walking into the kitchen in pursuit of his own Chinese noodles.

          “Piss off, I’m hungry. Yours is on the table.”

          “We got movies,” Armin informed her. “Want to watch with us?”

          “I’ll watch the first one with you guys, but after that I’m gonna head to bed.”

          Eren poked his head out of the kitchen. “What, do you have work tomorrow?”

          Mikasa rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately. Trost Tech doesn’t believe in weekends off for supervisors apparently. I don’t think I’ve had a damn weekend off yet.”

          Eren wondered if that meant Levi had work as well. _Then again, he seems like he just goes in when he feels like it. What does he do there exactly?_

          Eren shook his head, trying to dispel all thoughts of Levi. “So, are you going to make it to the party then?” he asked Mikasa, bringing the bag of food into the living room and handing Armin his share.

          “Keep your panties on, I’ll make it to your fucking party. I wouldn’t miss the unveiling of the boyfriend for the world.” Mikasa didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of her tone.

          Eren was starting to think this whole thing was a bad idea. Armin, sensing the tension, tried to change the subject. “S-say, Mikasa, which movie do you want to watch? You can pick first, since you’re going to bed early!”

          Mikasa didn’t even look at the titles. “The one with the most bloodshed.”

          Eren lifted his baseball cap a little to let some air onto his sweaty forehead. He had the front door propped open and the fan pointed straight at the register, and he was still hot. As it turned out, Eren was to run the store by himself his entire shift even though it was the day the trucks came. Boxes piled the aisles of the store, waiting for Eren to unpack them. He had been at it all morning but still wasn’t even halfway finished because he had to constantly stop to take care of people at the register. With how busy he was, Eren barely had any time to breathe, let alone think about Levi or the party that night. _I guess I wanted this, but still… I should be more fucking careful what I wish for!_

          The sound of footsteps entering the store caused Eren’s head to snap up. “Welcome- Oh, it’s just you guys.”

          Sasha and Connie walked in, grinning stupidly at Eren. “Hey, is that any way to greet two of your valued customers?” Connie asked in a pretentious voice. Sasha was giggling next to him, her shoulders shaking.

          “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, sir. What I meant to say was ‘fuck off’.”

          Sasha burst out laughing.

          “Woah, language! Do I have to speak with your manager about this?” Connie asked, winking. Eren rolled his eyes. “No, but seriously. I won’t tell if you let me have a bag of chips for free.”

          “What the hell do you want?” Eren asked, rolling his eyes.

          “Well, I want some Arizona tea and pretzels,” Sasha said, and walked to the back of the store to pick out just that.

          “We were just out and we walked by the store,” Connie explained, leaning against the counter. Eren tried to swat his elbow away, but Connie dodged him. “I thought we’d come by and say hi to our precious friend.”

          “So, Sasha wanted food. Typical.”

          Connie didn’t deny it. “I also wanted to know the address of the party you’re going to tonight,” he added. “If there’s booze, you know I’m there.”

          Eren blinked in confusion. “Wait, how’d you know about that?”

          “Dude, Facebook, duh! It’s an open event, so anyone whose Facebook friends with Reiner is gonna see it,” Connie explained. “But I totally forgot where that dude lives. So I was going to text you and ask, but I figured since me and Sasha were close to where you work already we might as well walk on in and ask. So, where was it again? I know it’s close to here, but I can’t remember what street…”

          Eren groaned. _Fucking Reiner… Why did I assume he would make this one a small party?_ Reiner and Bertolt’s apartment landlord was deaf, so they often had parties on Saturdays and invited everybody they knew; and college kids knew a lot of fucking people. Eren was of course invited to all of them since the three of them worked together, and as time went on, he had brought along Connie, Sasha, Armin, Jean, and even Historia and Ymir a few times. Amidst all the drinking and talking, all of them had become friends with Reiner and Bertolt on Facebook one way or the other. Though, even if they hadn’t, it probably would have happened eventually; it was just too easy to find people on Facebook.

         Sasha came back up to the register and dumped two teas, a bag of pretzels, a bag of chips, and a pack of Twizzlers on the counter. Eren started ringing them up, still trying to wrap his mind around exactly what he was bringing Levi to. He barely knew Levi, so he had no idea how the older man would react to being brought to what was basically a college party.

          “Hey, whoa, what the hell is all this?!” Connie protested. “You said Arizona tea and pretzels!”

          “Well, yeah, but then I passed all of this other stuff.”

          “We just ate lunch before coming here, you know!”

          “And? Back off, Connie, it’s not like you’re paying for any of it.”

          “I can just feel the pain from your wallet secondhand though.”

          Eren could barely hear their conversation, he was so preoccupied. Sasha and Connie left after that, Eren promising to find out the address so he could text it to Connie. He immediately pulled out his phone and sent a text to Historia, asking her if she and Ymir were also going to the party. _Okay, headcount. That means he is gonna meet my sister, my best friend, my best friend’s annoying-as-hell boyfriend, my classmates, my coworkers, my friends I met through Annie… Oh, shit, he’s gonna meet everyone._

          Eren only had three hours left in his shift, and he went twice as fast as normal, trying to get all of the boxes unpacked so that he could leave as soon as the manager came to take over. He needed more time to prepare Levi for what was to come. He had a change of clothes in his backpack, so all he had to do was change in the bathroom and he was ready to go to Levi’s house. Eren finished restocking in two and a half hours flat, exactly when Mr. Woerman drove up. Eren snatched the hat right off his head and hung it on the hook in the employee break room, hurriedly putting on his clothes and dashing out of the front door.

          Eren walked briskly through the parking lot, eyes straight ahead. A car came into the entrance of the parking lot as he walked passed, flashing its lights at him. Eren squinted, shielding his eyes as the car rolled past him, pulling into the nearest parking spot. It was a nice car, all sleek and black. Then Eren spotted the logo on the back, and his eyes widened in shock. _There is only one person who would come to this shitty convenience store driving a 2015 Jaguar F-Type…_

          The car’s engine stopped and Levi stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him. He strode over to where Eren was standing, looking sexy as hell in a pair of black jeans and a charcoal grey long-sleeved button up. It was the most casual outfit Eren had ever seen Levi wear, and yet it still screamed importance and money. Eren was positive Levi could wear a trash bag and still give off that same aura. He didn’t know exactly what about Levi gave him that vibe. Maybe it was his perfect posture? His cool demeanor? His distant eyes? Eren didn’t know. The only thing he was sure about was that Levi’s ass looked perfect in those jeans.

          Eren balled his hands into tight fists to keep from touching and cleared his throat multiple times to calm his racing heart and mind. “L-Levi, what are you doing here? I didn’t even tell you I was working today…”

          “You think I can’t find that kind of shit out on my own?” Levi snapped back. He kept walking, coming all the way up to Eren until he could practically smell the cigarettes and soap. Actually, there was another scent, too.

          “Did you change your soap?” Eren asked suddenly. “You smell a little like cinnamon.”

          Levi sniffed his own shirt. “How the hell can you tell?” Eren just shrugged. “You’ve got a nose like a dog, brat.”

          Eren didn’t say anything. Now that he had identified the scent, it was starting to drive him a little crazy. Levi got even closer, and reached out towards Eren. Eren’s breath hitched and he froze solid. Levi lightly brushed some lint from Eren’s shoulder. Even that little contact was enough to make him shiver. Levi smiled knowingly.

           “Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” he questioned, continuing to shower feather touches on Eren’s shoulders, arms, and stomach. Eren wanted him to stop, immediately. Or never stop. He couldn’t tell which. “You always wear this same green sweater. Don’t you have any other clothes?”

           Eren blushed. “L-Leave me alone. I like this sweater!”

           Levi leaned in towards Eren’s ear, going on his tiptoes and shamelessly leaning his entire body against Eren’s frame. “I like it, too.”

           Eren immediately flashed back to the first time they had sex. Levi had put this very sweater on his naked chest to go out onto the veranda. Eren could still just barely smell the smoke on the hood. His whole body shuddered. _Fuck this old man! He is so doing this shit on purpose!_

           “Shall we go?” Levi asked innocently, releasing Eren and walking back to his car. Eren followed behind him, his pulse quickening.

           A bark came from the back of the car, and Rover poked his head up to look out of the window excitedly. Eren’s eyes widened for the second time.

           “Is that… Rover?” he asked.

           Levi gave him an exasperated look. “Get in, brat. We have a party to get to.”

           Eren closed his mouth and climbed in the passenger seat. Levi started up the car and pulled out of the parking spot. They headed down the street towards Bertolt and Reiner’s house. Eren felt like he was starting to regret the decisions he had made in the past week that had led to this moment.

           Especially the part where he still couldn’t have sex with Levi.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, again!  
> This winter break is going to get really busy for me, so I worked really hard all night to get the next chapter out super quick for everyone. (Plus, you know, I felt really bad about not getting to the party last chapter like I had originally planned.) Please enjoy this chapter, because it will probably be the last one of the year! I will see you all next year with a butt load of new chapters, new plot twists, and maybe some new characters...

            There were already quite a few people when Eren and Levi arrived. Reiner never posted a start time for his parties. As soon as the sun went down, people just started to flock to the apartment. Most were already drunk from pre-gaming, some brought their own alcohol to get drunk mid-party, and others didn’t drink at all. Reiner and Bertolt’s apartment wasn’t small, being a two-bedroom, two-bathroom place with a kitchen, living room, and dining room, but it got packed pretty quickly. Eren could see people hanging out on the roof already. The apartment was three stories tall, their apartment being on the third floor, right next to the stairs that led to the roof. There was a speaker set up on the roof for everyone to dance to. Reiner had it that way on purpose so the living room didn’t get completely wrecked.

            Levi got out of the car slowly and looked around, his expression unreadable as usual. Eren kept glancing at his face while he fastened on Rover’s leash, trying to see if it would change. They walked up the stairs, Rover happily trailing, and pushed past all of the people to get inside.

            The two party hosts were easy to spot, Bertolt being the tallest person there and Reiner being the loudest. They were in the living room, playing beer pong against two other guys, and losing, from the look of Reiner’s face. He was already turning a nice shade of red. Eren and Levi made their way over. The inside of the apartment wasn’t super crowded yet, most of the people on the roof dancing. The music from the roof pulsed through the entire apartment. The kitchen was a mess of vodka bottles, shots of all kinds, and various bags of chips. The dining room table had been turned into a giant flip cup table, a large group playing loudly.

           “Hey, it’s Eren!” Reiner said a little too loudly, grabbing Eren by the shoulder and shaking him violently.

           “Hey, Reiner, what’s up?” Eren greeted him, forcing a smile. He had hoped Reiner wouldn’t be quite so drunk when they got there. Reiner had a tendency to say shit he shouldn’t when he was drunk...

           “And is this your boyfriend? Holy fuck, he’s really hot! Kinda short though.”

_Like that._

           Levi glared at him. “Maybe your perception is off because of your giant friend over there.”

           Bertolt’s face colored instantly. He smiled uneasily. “H-hi, I’m Bertolt. I’m sorry about Reiner, he’s pretty drunk.”

           “I can fucking see that,” Levi snapped back, crossing his arms.

           Eren was starting to break out into cold sweat. “S-so, Bertolt, have you seen Armin or Mikasa come in yet?” he asked quickly, hoping to change the subject.

           “No, I don’t think so. Actually, I think I saw Armin go up to the roof. Try there?”

           “I will. Thanks!”

           “Bye, Eren!” Reiner said, grinning widely. He looked over at Levi. “Hey, shorty, what was your name again?”

           Eren took hold of Levi’s hand and pulled him towards the door before he could respond.

          “Is that a dog?!” Reiner’s voice yelled behind them.

          Eren ran a hand through his hair and stole a peek at Levi’s face. He still looked pissed. “Um, he isn’t usually like that, I swear. He just gets a little… _mouthy_ when he’s drunk.”

          Levi didn’t respond. Eren got even more worried. _Fuck, this was such a bad idea, I shouldn’t have invited him to begin with, what the hell was I even thinking trying to bring him here?! We should just leave. I should just apologize and we should just get the hell out of here before he meets anyone else!_

          Rover whined and pulled on his leash, tugging Eren towards the stairs that led to the roof. The music that was playing had gotten softer, a slower song coming on. Eren took that as a hopeful sign and led Levi up towards the roof. Armin was in fact there, with Jean. They were slow dancing in the middle of the roof amidst a few other couples, staring into each other eyes. Eren immediately felt nauseated.

          Armin noticed him and released his arms from around Jean’s neck, blushing furiously. He took Jean’s hand the two of them made their way over to where Eren and Levi were standing.

          “You must be Levi,” Armin said, his face still flushed. “I’m Armin. I live with Eren and Mikasa. Eren and I have been good friends for years now.”

          Armin offered his hand to Levi, but Levi made no move to shake it. Instead he stared Armin up and down. Armin slowly lowered his hand, shuffling uncomfortably.

          “Eren, who is this?” Jean demanded, putting a protective hand on Armin’s shoulder.

          Eren tried to reign in his irritation. “I think Armin just said who he was, Jean.”

           Jean’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, that’s rich. What, no calling me ‘Horseface’ in front of your little friend? Trying to impress him, huh?” Jean turned his attention to Levi. “My name is Jean, by the way. I guess you’re too good to shake my hand as well?”

          Levi scoffed at him. “Don’t get too cheeky, kid.”

          “‘Kid’? You’re not even that much older than me.”

          Levi’s eyes darkened. Armin jumped in before any more could be said.

          “Wh-what a cute dog you have! Is it yours, Levi?” he asked louder than necessary, crouching down to scratch Rover behind the ears.

          Rover barked happily at the attention and proceeded to put his paws on Armin’s shoulders to lick him as a thank you. Armin laughed as he tried to bat away Rover’s mouth. Jean relented and also petted the dog.

          “He _is_ pretty cute,” Jean admitted, smiling. “What kind of dog is he?”

          Levi shrugged. “How the hell should I know?”

          “What’s his name?!” Armin interjected quickly before Jean could say anything.

          “His name is Rover,” Eren answered for Levi.

          Jean laughed. “That’s a stupid name.”

          “Coming from the guy named after a fucking pair of pants,” Levi pointed out.

          “What the hell’s your problem, man?!” Jean demanded, rising to his feet and glaring at Levi. “Why the hell did you bring this guy, Eren?!”

          “Don’t fucking talk about my boyfriend like that!” Eren yelled back, getting right into Jean’s face. Jean backed up a little, gaping at him.

          “You’re… what?” he asked lamely. “Wait a minute… That means…”

          “Nothing gets past this one, does it?” Levi asked Armin, pointing at the still-gaping Jean.

          Armin blushed again, focusing his eyes on Rover’s fur. “Well, I was expecting Eren to text me when he arrived, you know, so I could prepare…” he mumbled, trailing off.

          “Nothing was going to prepare me for that kind of mental image!” Jean protested, rubbing his eyes furiously.

          “What kind of shit are you imagining?!” Eren demanded hotly, fighting the blush creeping across his cheeks.

          “I think you already know,” Levi said with a suggestive smile.

          “Alright, I am not drunk enough for this,” Jean announced, taking Armin’s hand and pulling him up, much to Rover’s disappointment. “I need a drink.”

          Eren looked at Levi. “You wanna drink?” he asked.

          Levi scrunched up his nose. “I’ll see what kind of shit they have first,” he answered.

          They followed Armin and Jean's lead back down to the apartment. Jean immediately went into the fridge for a couple of beers while Levi surveyed the counter's impressive display of cheap vodka. Eren looked with him, wondering what he would choose. He had never seen Levi drink anything but tea and coffee, but he assumed that Levi was good with alcohol.

          "God, this takes me back," Levi said, picking up a bottle of raspberry vodka. "These are all typical college student drink choices."

          "And, um, how long has it been since you were a college student?" Jean asked from the other side of the kitchen. Levi ignored him.

          "Hey, it's Eren," said a voice entering the kitchen. It was Ymir. She strode in with Historia in tow. "And Armin, too. Long time no see. I missed you at the last party."

          "Hi, Ymir. Hi, Krista." Armin greeted them both with a smile.

          "Sorry, he was busy with me that night," Jean said, putting an arm around Armin's shoulder.

          Ymir rolled her eyes. "Oh, great, Armin, you brought _that_ along. Didn't I tell you not to bring your pet to parties?"

          "Hey!" Jean protested.

          "And speaking of pets," Ymir continued as if Jean had never spoken, looking at the ground. Rover was sniffing her pant leg curiously. "Who brought the dog?"

          "He's adorable!" Historia squealed, crouching down to receive the same treatment as Armin. Rover barked happily.

          "You got a problem with dogs?" Levi asked suddenly, staring at Ymir. She stared right back.

          "No. I've got a problem with you hogging the raspberry vodka, though. Hand it over."

          "And if I said no?"

          "Then I guess I'd have to out drink you for it."

          "I'd like to see you try, bitch."

          "Bring it on, short stuff."

          Eren started to panic. "Hey, you two, we don't need another drinking battle, really..."

          "Why?" Ymir interjected. "Is short stuff a light weight? Then he shouldn't have been touching my booze."

          "Ymir, it's not yours only..." Historia protested.

          "Stay out of this, babe," Ymir chided. "This is between me and that guy over there. Hey, what's your name?"

          "Don't they teach fucking manners anymore? You're supposed to give your name before you go asking someone for theirs."

          "Woah, seriously, chill!" Eren said, holding up his hands. "Levi, this is Ymir! Ymir, this is Levi! There, you're introduced! Happy?!"

          "A-and I'm Historia," Historia piped up. "But I prefer to be called Krista, my middle name."

          Levi nodded at the girl, not taking his eyes off Ymir. She slammed two shot glasses on the countertop. "Let's go, pretty boy."

          Eren groaned, giving up on stopping them. Armin put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "I hope Levi is good with his liquor," Armin said.

          "He's screwed," Jean said, laughing and taking a sip of his beer. "Nobody beats Ymir at drinking."

          But exactly ten shots later, that's exactly what Levi did. Ymir conceded defeat immediately, shoving her eleventh shot away from her face in disgust.

          "I never want to fucking taste raspberries again," Ymir complained. "You're a goddamn bottomless pit."

          Eren and everyone else stared at Levi in amazement. He didn't even look drunk. How?

          "Alright, new challenge!" Ymir announced loudly, burping. "See if you can beat me in flip cup!"

          They all moved from the kitchen to the dining hall, where Reiner was starting another round of flip cup. Most of the people had moved upstairs by then, having drank enough to want to dance. Connie and Sasha had just shown up and immediately jumped right into the game. Bertolt started it off, bouncing his ping pong ball in and flipping the cup over perfectly on the first try. He had this eerie ability of getting more accurate when he was drunk. Eren was fine because he had only drank one beer while watching Ymir and Levi were going at it earlier. Historia quickly got drunk as she failed to flip her cup over accurately. Levi never faltered once, destroying everyone at the table without even blinking. He silently won three consecutive rounds.

          "Damn, man, can nobody beat you?!" Connie demanded, face glowing with alcohol.

          "Seriously, Levi, you are really fucking good at this game!" Reiner said with that same stupid grin on his face.

          Levi grimaced at their compliments, turning to Eren and grabbing his shirt with more force than usual. "I'm going to go take a piss," he said. His voice wasn't slurred, but Eren could smell the strong scent alcohol on his breath.

          "Okay," he said. "I'll go get Rover some water."

          At some point during the match, Eren had stopped holding Rover's leash, letting him wander the apartment eating loose potato chips. He found Rover in the kitchen, lapping up some spilled soda, and filled a bowl with water for him.

          "There you go, boy," he said soothingly, stroking Rover's fur. Rover barked happily and drank the water. "I hope you're having more fun than your owner."

          "Is that a fucking dog?"

          Mikasa walked into the kitchen. She was in a button up and a black pencil skirt, so she must have come straight from work. Eren stood up and hugged her tightly.

          "You came!" he exclaimed, heart swelling with affection for his sister.

          "Yeah, I said I would," Mikasa reminded him, pulling Eren's arms away. "You really reek. Are you drunk?"

          Eren shook his head. Sure, his head was a little fuzzy, but he didn't feel drunk. He hadn't had half as much as Levi, anyway. _Seriously, how is that guy not drunk yet?_

          "So, where's the infamous boyfriend I'm supposed to be officially meeting?" Mikasa asked, looking around. "And, again, what's with the dog?"

          "That's Rover," Eren said, also looking around. Was Levi still in the bathroom? "And I'm gonna go look for him. He's taking a while..."

          "Hey, are you just going to leave me with this dog?"

          Eren ignored Mikasa and walked away, heading for the hallway. The only two bathrooms were connected to Reiner and Bertolt's rooms, so he headed into one. Judging from the dumbbells in the corner, he had walked into Reiner's room first. Levi wasn't there. Eren opened the door to Bertolt's room, peeking in.

          "Levi..?" he called hesitantly.

          Levi was standing in the middle of the room, his arms crossed. He huffed with annoyance when Eren walked in. "Took you long enough," he muttered.

          "What..?" Eren asked in confusion, but Levi interrupted him by striding over and kissing him suddenly.

          Levi grabbed a fistful of Eren's hair as he did so, deepening the kiss immediately. Eren could taste the raspberry vodka still there on his tongue as it intertwined forcefully with his. All the blood went straight from Eren's head to his dick in a rush, making him dizzy. He staggered and Levi took advantage of that, pushing him roughly on the bed.

          "Whoa, Levi, what are you doing?" Eren asked, holding his hands up in protest as Levi started unbuttoning his pants.

          "What does it look like I'm doing?"

          Levi freed Eren's already hard clock from his pants, grabbing it with his hand and pumping hard. Eren twitched and gasped at the sudden contact.

          "Ah, Levi, what-"

          "Shut up."

          Levi didn't seem to be satisfied with just his hand and moved to put his mouth over Eren's crotch. Eren's eyes widened in shock.

          "Levi, seriously-!"

          But he wasn't listening at all. Levi's mouth came down over Eren's dick, almost swallowing it whole. He sucked and nipped and licked all over, driving Eren crazy. He bit his knuckles hard to keep his voice down.

          "The fuck are you doing? Let me hear you." Levi took a break long enough to stare into Eren's eyes.

          "B-but, people will hear..."

          "Let them."

          Levi went right back to it, adding his hand to it, stroking Eren's balls while he licked a slow line up to the tip. Eren twitched and jolted, his hips pushing his member further into Levi's mouth, wanting more. Levi took it all without even gagging, expertly sucking the bit of precum that was beginning to dribble out.

          Tears sprang in Eren's eyes as he gasped aloud. All the sensations were too strong, heightened by the alcoholic haze. Every part of his body was twice as responsive, and Levi was stroking his sensitive spots relentlessly. Eren fought against the urge to scream out. Someone could come in at any moment and catch them. Mikasa is right in the fucking living room, for God's sake!

          "L-Levi," Eren whispered, his voice high pitched and needy. "Please, stop..."

          Levi took his mouth off of Eren's cock and looked up at Eren's face. A trail of saliva still connected Levi's bottom lip to the tip. The sight of it was so erotic that Eren blushed.

          "Why?" Levi asked. "What's wrong?"

          "What's wrong?! Levi, we're in someone else's room! And someone might come in!"

          Levi smiled at him, the expression all full of bad intent. "So? Haven't you ever wanted to do it somewhere you might get caught?"

          While Eren couldn't deny that, there was something else weighing on his mind. "Levi... What about what we wagered? I said I wouldn't touch you for a week."

          Levi sat up, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Look, I don't care about that stupid bet."

          "But, you said..."

          "I know what I said. And I still mean it. I don't want to be used by anybody for sex. But you... You would never do that."

          Levi said the last part quietly, without looking in Eren's direction. The room was dark, so Eren couldn't be sure, but he swore Levi's ears were pink.

          "Levi... Are you drunk?" Eren asked suddenly, blinking.

          Levi glared at him. "So what if I am?" he retorted.

          Eren stared at Levi's face. He reached out a hand, and cupped Levi's cheek. Levi's eyes dropped, avoiding Eren's. His face was incredibly warm. Eren couldn't resist the impulse, closing the distance and kissing Levi softly. Levi's mouth parted, and he panted, seeking Eren's mouth when he pulled back. His cheeks were definitely pink, and his eyes were sort of glazed. So... Cute...

          With that thought, Eren's restraint snapped in half. He lunged at Levi, locking lips and simultaneously reaching for his ass. He grabbed Levi's ass, finally feeling it through the jeans. Eren groaned happily.

          "I wanted to do that all night," he informed Levi, who smirked.

          "I know, brat. That's why I wore them."

          Levi pulled Eren's shirt up and pushed him down again. Eren fell willingly, hands firmly on Levi's ass. Levi began to suck and lick Eren's nipples, eliciting twitches and gasps from the youth. Eren started to unbutton Levi's pants at the same time, pulling down his underwear as well. He rubbed Levi's ass, then tenderly stuck a finger in.

          "Ah, shit!" Levi cursed under his breath, his head whipping back.

          Eren smiled to himself. He was becoming confident with his hands. Levi continued to ravish Eren's nipples until they hardened. Eren bit his lip so he wouldn't make too much noise and also continued to press his fingers into Levi. They rutted against each other, going slowly so the bed wouldn't creak so much. Eren had already been about to go over the edge before; he didn't know how much longer he could go on. And he didn't know if it was the alcohol or the situation they were in, but Eren would never have been able to say the next words out of his mouth before.

          "I want... to be inside you, Levi," he gasped out.

          Levi stopped and stared at him. Then he nodded.

          They shifted positions and Levi spread himself under Eren on the bed. The image of it sent a rush of need coursing through Eren's body. He took hold of Levi's hips and pushed himself deep into Levi.

          "Ah, ahh, holy fuck, that's good," Levi groaned into a pillow, biting down on it hard. Eren now understood why Levi had wanted to hear him earlier. He wanted to hear Levi's screams of ecstasy while he took him.

          He started to move, pushing into Levi hard. They kept up a rhythm, colliding against each other roughly. Eren couldn't seem to control himself, overtaken by the impulse to fuck Levi raw. They smelled like sweat and alcohol and sex, and Eren loved it. Levi made a string of muffled noises into the pillow. Eren ripped the pillow away from Levi in irritation, tired of Levi holding back.

          Levi twisted his neck to look back at Eren, an amused look on his face. "You shitty brat."

          Eren responded by grabbing hold of Levi's dick. Levi jerked, his insides clenching around Eren's own cock.

          "Oh, shit!" Eren shouted in surprise, releasing inside of Levi. The warm liquid coated his dick, coming out of Levi's ass when Eren pulled out.

          "So much fucking cum... Seriously, what the hell?" Levi complained light heartedly.

          Eren ignored him. "Your turn."

          He shoved his fingers in again, sliding in easily this time due to Eren's cum. Eren pumped Levi's cock at the same time. He flicked his fingers inside, rubbing against the same spot he remembered from last time until Levi also came. He shuddered, releasing his load into Eren's hand.

          "D-don't let any drop," Levi warned weakly, collapsing in Eren's arms.

          Eren chuckled. "Yes, sir."

          "I'm fucking serious, brat. This isn't our bed, remember?"

          Eren's eyes widened. He had forgotten somewhere along the line. He cocked his head towards the door, listening for footsteps. _Holy hell, if someone heard any of that, my life is over..._

          Eren didn't hear anything and sighed in relief. They were safe.

          But he was pretty sure they had been "in the bathroom" for more than thirty minutes.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR'S! BET YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE GETTING A POST FROM ME!  
> Seriously, like I didn't even think I was going to finish this chapter in time, I have been staring at my computer screen with half-written sentences on it for so many days now, I wasn't sure it would every get written. But the literature gods (or the smut gods) have smiled down on me, and I found my fingers typing faster than words could form in my head, and here we are! Please enjoy!

           Eren and Levi walked back from Bertolt’s room, straightening their clothes as they entered the living room. Eren looked around nervously, wondering if anyone had noticed their absence, but the party carried on without them as if nothing was had happened at all. He relaxed a little with a smile. _Well, of course it would; I mean, it’s not as if there aren’t other reasons we would both be gone. One of us could have been throwing up or something._

           Levi was unfazed standing next to Eren. “What the hell do you keep looking around for?” he asked Eren in a slightly annoyed voice. “You’re making me fucking jittery.”

           “Sorry,” Eren said under his breath, still looking around. He could only think of one person really who would notice that he had been gone…

           “Eren, hey!” Armin called from across the room. He was sitting on the couch with Mikasa and Jean, nursing a beer. Eren headed over, pulling Levi over with him.

           “Hey,” Eren said awkwardly, then cursed himself inwardly. He gestured from Mikasa to Levi quickly. “Mikasa, this is Levi. Levi, this is my sister, Mikasa.”

           “I know who she is,” Levi said simply, glancing at Mikasa.

           Mikasa looked Levi up and down with a strange expression on her face. Then, her features settled into a grimace. Eren’s blood ran cold. But instead of doing anything that he dreaded, Mikasa extended her hand.

           “You saved my brother,” she stated matter-of-factly, looking none too pleased to admit it. “So I guess I owe you one for now.”

           Levi looked straight into Mikasa’s eyes. He took her outstretched hand silently, surprising everyone, especially Eren. The act was small enough, but it made Eren’s heart swell with emotion. Because it meant a lot coming from Levi. Perhaps due to the alcohol in his system, Eren laced his fingers through Levi’s in a rare display of affection. Levi made a face, but didn’t pull his hand away from Eren.

           “Woah, but that doesn’t mean you get to be all over each other right in front of me!” Mikasa protested loudly, waving her hands in front of her face with a disgusted look on her face. “Do that shit in private!”

           “I didn’t know you were so bold, Yeager,” Jean hooted with a laugh, egging it on.

           “Shut up, Jean,” Eren muttered, not feeling like properly duking it out with Jean right then. He was too happy. Levi had met his sister and no blood was shed. This night was officially a success.

           “Speaking of which…” Mikasa said, a wide smile spreading across her mouth. Eren tensed. Nothing good ever happened when she smiled like that. He knew from experience. “What exactly were you to doing until now? You went after Levi, leaving me with a damn dog, and disappeared for almost an hour.”

           “O-oh,” Eren said, his voice going up an octave. “I-I was, you know, looking for Levi. He had been gone a long time…”

           “There are all of two rooms down that hallway.”

           Eren looked to Levi for help, but Levi wouldn’t meet his eyes.

           Mikasa smirked. “Eren? Do tell. I was so lonely, drinking by myself you know. Armin had to keep me company this whole time.”

           “Say, where’s Rover? I don’t want him wandering off too far! He could get into something he shouldn’t!” Eren stated loudly, changing the subject abruptly.

           “You would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Mikasa pointed out.

           Armin choked on the sip of beer he was taking, blushing bright red. Jean burst out in laughter. Eren turned and walked away with Levi.

          He had been right. She noticed. She fucking noticed alright.

          It was around 2 am when the party died down. Reiner said goodbye to groups of people at a time as they filed slowly out of the apartment, bottles in their hands and laughing loudly. Bertolt busied himself with dismantling the sound system set up on the roof. Eren and Levi watched him absently as he rolled up the cables, leaning against the edge. Levi was having a smoke. Eren watched him out of the corner of his eye, admiring how cool he looked when he smoked.

          “What did I tell you about staring, brat?” Levi warned.

          Eren blushed, shrugging. “I wasn’t…”

          Levi flicked his cigarette over the edge of the wall.

          “H-hey, you’re not supposed to-”

          “Isn’t it about time to get going?” Levi said suddenly, looking up at Eren.

          “Huh? Sure,” Eren said uncertainly. “Hey, Bertolt, we’re leaving! Bye!”

           Bertolt stopped what he was doing for a moment to smile at them. “Thanks for coming, Eren. And it was very nice to meet you, Levi.”

           Levi walked away without saying anything. Eren waved and followed after him. They plodded down the stairs and saw Reiner, Armin, Jean, and Mikasa talking in front of the door. Mikasa had Rover’s leash in her hand.

           “There you are!” she said, glaring. “How many times are you going to just disappear and leave me to take care of this fucking dog?!”

           Eren sighed. “You don’t have to hold onto his leash like that, you know. He won’t run away or anything.”

           “I know that,” Mikasa pouted. “I just didn’t want him getting into anything he shouldn’t or pooping anywhere, is all.”

           Levi quietly took the leash from Mikasa. He led Rover further down the stairs, towards the parking lot.

           “Doesn’t talk much, does he?” Reiner commented, throwing an arm around Eren’s shoulder.

           “Well, he just met us today,” Armin pointed out.

           “That’s no excuse!” Jean said. “The guy’s just an ass.”

           “So are you going to come home tonight?” Mikasa asked Eren, her voice completely composed. He couldn't tell if she was challenging him or just asking.

           Eren looked over the railing to where Levi was. He was already at his car, ushering Rover roughly into the backseat, scowling deeply when the dog's paws hit the leather seating. Then Levi proceeded to pull out another cigarette and lean against his car. As if he was waiting for Eren.

           That was enough to decide it. He gazed at Mikasa with a pleading look. She sighed, running a hand through her black bangs.

           "Armin, I'm guessing you're not coming home, either?" she asked.

           Armin blushed. "N-no, sorry." Jean made a grab for his hand, squeezing lovingly. Armin blushed further, but made no move to pull away.

           "Well then. I guess I'll have a nightcap with myself. Come on, Reiner," Mikasa said, dragging Reiner away from the group. "Let's see what booze is left."

           Eren watched Mikasa go back into Reiner and Bertolt's apartment, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest. _I feel like I keep leaving her alone lately. And we used to do everything together..._

           "Eren?" Armin put a hand on Eren's shoulder. "You okay?"

           "Yeah," Eren said, giving Armin a small half smile. "You two have fun... with whatever."

            Jean smirked, prompting Armin to swat his arm in embarrassment. Eren tried to stifle his disgust and turned to leave.

           "She'll be fine, by the way."

            Eren stopped. Jean smiled knowingly at him. "Mikasa is a tough one."

            Eren nodded and clambered down the stairs to the apartment complex.

            "You don't need to tell me, Horseface," Eren muttered to himself. "I already know."

            "Oh, and tell that guy I said Levi is a brand of jeans!" Jean yelled after him.

            Eren ignored him completely.

            Levi stubbed his cigarette against the ground with his shoe as Eren approached. He looked up, his face unreadable as usual. But if Eren didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Levi seemed a bit nervous. Maybe that was what prompted Eren to grab both sides of Levi's face and kiss him.

            He pushed Levi's small body against the car, almost lifting him. Their mouths came apart and collided again violently, tongues entwining and unraveling again, teeth clicking against each other. Eyes open, they stared at each other the whole time. Bright green and icy gray, looking into each other, each searching for something, both unsure of what.

            The kiss ended in loud panting, and Eren rested his forehead against Levi's collarbone, enjoying the feeling of his breathing vibrate through his skull.

            "What was that for?" Levi asked, putting a hand in Eren's unruly hair. His fingers tickled Eren's scalp as they skittered through his hair, lightly touching.

            "For tonight," Eren answered. "Thank you."

             Levi didn't respond. He just continued his strange stroking motions for a while before releasing Eren and climbing into the car. "Let's go home, brat."

             Hearing that word fall off of Levi’s lips so easily made Eren’s heart skip a beat. It felt like he was saying Eren was part of that home for Levi. He sorely wanted to ask, but kept his mouth shut in fear of the answer. Instead, Eren climbed into the passenger seat and smiled at Levi. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

             Once they got to there, Levi’s fingers started twitching restlessly. Eren noticed it, but didn’t say anything. They walked through the lobby and into the elevator that led up to Levi’s floor. As soon as the doors slid to a close, Levi immediately closed the distance between the two of them, bringing his lips just inches from Eren’s own. Eren could feel Levi’s breath on his face, tickling his upper lip. It was driving him crazy. He leaned his face forward in an effort to kiss Levi’s beautiful lips.

             “Don’t move,” Levi whispered.

             Eren stopped moving, but began to fidget impatiently. Levi stared into his eyes, unmoving. The only sound in the elevator was of their breathing. Eren didn’t think this elevator ride could get much longer.

             The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival, and Levi turned and walked out, leaving Eren standing there in confusion. He followed after Levi, waiting for an explanation, and huffing when he didn’t get one. “What was that all about?”

             Levi simply unlocked the door to his apartment and walked in. Eren followed him down the hallway and all the way into Levi’s room. Levi shed his jacket and walked into his closet to hang it back up. Eren stood in the middle of the room, waiting.

             “Levi, are you going to tell me what’s up with you or not?” he asked again, this time a little whiny.

             “This is why I hate brats,” Levi said from the closet. “Always impatient, always asking questions about every little thing.”

              Eren rolled his eyes. _Here we go again…_

             “You just rolled your eyes at me again, didn’t you?”

             “No.”

              Levi came out of the closet. Eren’s eyes widened at his outfit. He was dressed in a black tank top and black shorts with black lace up combat boots on. The shorts were so short that if Levi turned around, Eren was sure he could see Levi’s delicious butt hanging out. Eren suddenly felt hot, still fully dressed and with his jacket on.

             “Wh-what are you..?”

             “Stop asking questions.” Levi’s tone was different. It was quiet and authoritative as usual, but for some reason sent chills down Eren’s spine. Then he noticed what Levi was holding in his hands. It was the tie.

             Levi approached Eren slowly, taking his time with each step. The tank top was extremely loose, barely covering Levi’s muscular chest. Every time he moved, Eren caught the sight of a pink nipple peeking out of the black fabric. It made his pulse quicken. And those _shorts_ …

             “Careful not to drool too much,” Levi warned with a smirk.

             Eren blushed and quickly peeled his eyes away from the sight of Levi’s body. He instead focused on the tie. “Is that-”

             “I thought I told you,” Levi snapped, cutting Eren off coldly with a glare. “To stop asking questions. Do I have to repeat myself?”

             Eren’s mouth snapped shut and he held back a shiver. He couldn’t tell if he was excited or scared. Maybe a little bit of both. As much as he hated making Levi mad at him, a tiny part of him quite enjoyed the emotion displayed on Levi’s face. That beautiful mask that he always wore, distorted and broken into a quiet anger; frankly, it turned Eren on a little.

             Levi circled Eren slowly. Eren dared not move a muscle.

             “You’re disobedient,” Levi finally said. “You couldn’t even follow simple order in the elevator. I suppose it’s your age. You don’t know yet how to exercise control when faced with stimulation. I don’t think I did when I first started out either. And it’s cute, at times, all that youth and recklessness. I’ll admit I indulged in you a bit too much. I probably shouldn’t even have touched you as soon as I did, but it doesn’t matter now. Now, I’ll make you learn control. Make sure to keep up, brat, because I’m a strict teacher, even by adult’s standards. I won’t be going easy on you just because you’re… you.”

             Eren listened, growing more and more confused by the minute. _“Control”? What the hell does that mean? What did he start out doing? What is he going to teach me?_

             All Eren knew what that he wasn’t supposed to ask questions and that whatever they were going to do would somehow involve that tie. Lei kept wrapping it around his arm and unraveling it as he spoke, making Eren increasingly apprehensive and aroused at the same time. He didn’t know if his body could take all of these warring emotions at once.

            “Alright, Eren,” Levi said, bringing Eren back to reality. “From this moment forward, you are to do everything that I say, the minute I say it. You are not permitted to speak unless I ask you a question. When you answer me, so I know that you consent, say ‘yes’. Nothing else, got it?”

            Levi paused, waiting for Eren’s answer. He guessed that it was okay to speak and answered, “Yes,”

            Levi nodded at him before continuing. “If you don’t want to do anything that I ask you to do, say ‘no’. Then you will be punished.”

            Eren waited for Levi to elaborate, but he didn’t. Which was just as well, as far as Eren was concerned; he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know what Levi had meant by “punishment” anyway.

            Levi began to circle Eren, seeming to stare straight through him as he did. This Levi was like an entirely different person to Eren. The Levi he had met in the park not so long ago seemed more proper and aloof than the one standing before him now, boldly showing off his body and making it very clear what he wanted. Even Levi’s hair, usually so sleek and styled, was now flopping around his eyes sexily, curled slightly at the ends and just barely brushing against his lips. Eren wanted so badly to be the one doing that. But he dare not move.

            Levi seemed to be aware of Eren’s internal struggle, because he nodded approvingly. “Good. It looks like you can follow orders after all. Now take off your clothes.”

            Eren hesitated, then slid his jacket from his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor, followed by his shirt and pants. He stood naked in front of this new seductive Levi, wondering what was going to happen next.

            “Get on the bed.”

            Eren obeyed, movements jerky and nervous. Being naked in Levi’s room was nothing new to him, but for some reason he felt exposed and vulnerable. Eren licked his dry lips. His heart was practically thudding against his chest.

            “Now lay on your back.”

            Eren’s body tensed. He didn’t move at first, but closed his eyes and forced himself to assume the position that Levi wanted. He didn’t know why, but he kept stopping and peeking his eyes open, checking Levi’s expression. It never changed; Levi’s face was a calm and composed mask, as if he was asking Eren to pass the salt or give him a pen or something. It didn’t match the absurdity of the situation.

            “Put your arms over your head.”

            This was familiar. Now Eren knew what was going to happen. He easily slid his arms up and over his head. Levi slowly approached and sat on the bed just above Eren’s head and out of sight. He held up the tie and started to wrap it tightly around Eren’s wrists. Every motion was agonizingly slow, and Eren was starting to realize that Levi was doing it on purpose. Eren could feel all of his impatience surge towards his groin, making him frustrated. Was this on purpose as well? Part of his “training”?

            “Good,” Levi said, sounding satisfied for the first time. The sound of it made Eren’s chest swell with a warm feeling. He really liked pleasing this man. He was pretty sure he would do just about anything to continue pleasing him.

            Levi leaned forward, his chest and stomach hovering over Eren’s eyes. He bent down and pressed his lips to Eren’s, the odd angle forcing Levi’s tongue and top lip into Eren’s mouth as they sloppily kissed. Levi bit Eren’s chin, then licked it. Eren tilted his head up, trying his best to deepen the kiss. His arms burned with the strain, but the pain was almost sweet whenever it rewarded him with further access to Levi’s mouth. They kissed like that until Eren was out of breath and panting. Levi dragged himself away, teeth scraping against Eren’s bottom lip. Then he did something unexpected. He held Eren’s head in both hands and planted a swift kiss onto his forehead.

            “I’m sorry if I go too far,” Levi whispered so low that Eren didn’t quite catch what he said. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

            “Levi-”

            “Now,” Levi said louder, the authoritative tone back. He stood up and walked around the bed until he was facing in front of Eren. “Let’s begin.”

            Eren’s mouth snapped shut. He still wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but something told Eren that he was going to hate it.

            And enjoy it.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, school is going to start soon, which is a bummer, and work is getting busy, which is also a bummer, so I thought I'd write some more while I still had a bit of free time. Also, I felt bad leaving you all hanging like that with my last chapter, so before anyone breaks down my door with their head, I shall relieve everyone of their suspense!  
> ...Or not. 'Cause I'm mean :3  
> (TAG: There is slight coercion in this chapter on the part of Levi. There's no force I promise, but there is a suggestion of other things that I'll need to tag in the future, so probably should mention that.)

_**Weeks Later** _

           "Eren, where's my tie?!"

           Eren groaned, rolling over in his bed. “Tie”? But Levi always knew where his ties were. He kept them in a drawer in his closet, color-coordinated and dated by the day of the week. He wouldn't lose one. Was he running late for work or something?

           "Eren, for God's sake, wake up and help me find it! Did you borrow it?"

           The voice was closer now, rummaging through drawers and throwing clothes around. The movements weren't right though. They were too panicked, too jerky, and there was too much clutter. Eren couldn't be in Levi's room right now.

           "Eren, this is important! I can't start my first day at Trost Tech without a tie!" Armin whined.

          _Oh. I'm at home, aren't I?_

           Eren opened his eyes slightly, blinking sleep from them. In front of him was Armin, looking rather smart in a gray pantsuit and white button up with no tie.

          "Why don't you just wear that?" Eren asked groggily. "It looks good on you. Real business guy sexy."

          "This is not the time for flattery!" Armin snapped, trying to keep the blush off his face. "Jean will be here to get me any minute, and I can't find my tie!"

          "Yeah yeah, I heard," Eren mumbled, getting up and walking out of his room toward the kitchen.

          "Eren!!"

          Eren ignored Armin and opened the fridge, looking for the milk so he could make some cereal. Mikasa was already gone, having left for work hours ago. After today's orientation, Armin would probably start leaving at the same time as her every weekend morning until his internship was over. Eren was worried about that; who would be left to wake him up for work then?

          Eren poured milk over his cereal and sat down, rubbing his eyes to try to wake himself up. He had been a permanent guest in Levi's condo for the past few weeks ever since the party, commuting to school and work from The Castle and then coming home to Levi at night. It felt odd to be back in this kitchen after so long...

          "Found it!" Armin announced, bustling into the kitchen and interrupting Eren's thoughts.

          It was a dark maroon tie, and while it matched the suit well, Eren still grimaced when Armin put it on. "I really think you should lose the tie. You look amateur."

          "Eren, shut it!" Armin took some orange juice out of the fridge and poured a glass, sitting down.

          "Fine, whatever," Eren said, going back to his cereal. "So what, are you guys going to do this every week now?

          "Every Friday and Saturday until graduation, yeah," Armin answered. "Our supervisors will have meetings to evaluate our performance every Sunday."

          "Wait, what about school on Friday?"

          "Don't you remember from when Mikasa did this? We don't go to school on Fridays anymore."

          "Lucky."

          "I'll still be working!"

          The doorbell rang. Armin drained his glass and placed it in the sink, grabbing his suit jacket and briefcase and heading towards the door.

          Eren chuckled. "You bought a briefcase?"

          "It was a present from Jean!"

          "Oh, of course. This has Horseface all over it."

          "Please stop calling him that!"

          Armin opened the door and Jean was standing there in a three-piece suit with a bow tie. He grinned widely at Armin.

          "Hey, ready?" he asked. Armin nodded.

          "Off to meet the Queen, are we?" Eren called from the kitchen, laughing.

          "Shut the hell up, Yeager," Jean said cooly. "What are you even doing here? Didn't you move out or something?"

          Eren's shoulders stiffened. "Mind your own business, Horseface."

         "He came in last night," Armin explained. Then his eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, why _did_ you come back? You never said."

         Eren shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I just... wanted to be here. You know, to send you off in the morning. Big day."

         "But, you'll see me in a few hours anyway," Armin pressed. "Your community service starts today, and you have to be at Trost Tech by 11."

         Eren didn't say anything to that.

         "Come on, Armin, we're gonna be late," Jean said, grabbing Armin's hand.

         "Alright," Armin said. He looked back towards Eren, concerned. "Is something wrong, Eren? I feel like there's something you're not telling me..."

         "Nothing's wrong. Go on. I'll see you in a bit."

         Armin wasn't convinced, but he left with Jean anyway. Hopefully Eren would tell him in his own time.

         The door shut, and Eren stared at his bowl of cereal. The cereal had lost its integrity and now was just lumpy milk. He poured the rest of it down the drain.

         He walked back into his room and plopped back down on the couch. He grabbed his cellphone and checked for messages. There was only one.

 **My Boyfriend (SENT 8:17 AM):** Don't be late, brat. And I hope you made your decision about us.

         Eren looked up at the tall building that contained the headquarters of Trost Tech. It had an imposing look, with all those windows and that silver gleam reflected from the sun’s rays. Eren felt like the building could come alive and crush him at any moment. He looked around, wondering if it was okay for him to just waltz in through the front entrance. Amidst all these employees in their suits, his old green sweater stood out in a bad way. Everyone kept glancing at him out of the corner of their eye.

         Just as he was about to walk around towards the back of the building, a voice called out. “Are you Eren, then?”

        Eren looked towards the source of the voice and saw a tall older man standing on the entrance stairs, waving him over. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and approached with his head down. The man smiled at Eren, a funny kind of smile that made his moustache into a straight line. He had a head of trimmed blonde hair and brown eyes that didn’t seem to be all the way open, as if he had been drinking a lot the night before. When Eren stood in front of him, his suspicions were confirmed; this man had the faintest scent of alcohol still attached to his clothes.

        “Hey there,” he said in a friendly sort of voice. “I’m Hannes. I’m the head custodian at Trost Tech. They said a kid would be coming today for some sort of new program or something to do his community service. I guess you’re it?”

        Eren nodded. Hannes bent down to get a better look at his face. Eren stared back at the man, not wanting to seem like a little punk. He wasn’t punished fairly, after all. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

        “Alright, well, I guess we should be getting going,” Hannes said after a minute. “I’ll give you a tour of the place today, show you where all of the cleaning closets are, give you your assigned floors, sign you up for some lunch coupons, and all that. Probably won’t be doing a lot of cleaning today, but come tomorrow, I’ll leave you to it, okay?”

        Eren nodded again. Hannes lifted an eyebrow.

        “You don’t speak much, do you, Eren?” he asked. Eren shrugged.

        “I didn’t have anything to say,” he stated simply.

        Hannes chuckled at that. “I think you and me are gonna get along just fine! I ain’t a fan of noisy people anyway.”

        They walked into Trost Tech, Eren feeling a bit nervous. And it wasn’t because of the prospect of cleaning this huge building, either.

        Hannes led Eren through the lobby. It was bustling with activity, suits going this way and that to get to the many elevators on each side of the room. In the center of the floor was the lobby counter, a bunch of desks facing in every direction. A well-groomed girl occupied each one, typing away on a computer. They each had a headset and were continuously talking into them. Above the counter was a bunch of TVs, advertising an array of Trost Tech technology. Phones, tablets, modified computer parts, cable boxes, wireless connection modems, even electric cars. Trost Tech was impressive because of the wide reach it had in everything involving technology. Eren had heard they even manufactured medical supplies.

        “They really keep this place looking nice, don’t they?” Eren commented. Everything was silver and white, with chrome appliances.

        Hannes gave Eren a proud smile. “Yeah, that’s all thanks to my crew. We keep this place shining! Not a spec of dirt anywhere in sight.”

        Eren eyed the floor. “There sure is a lot to keep clean around here…”

        “You won’t be sitting on your ass, that’s for sure,” Hannes agreed with a nod.

        Eren followed Hannes towards the back of the lobby and through the exit door for the stairs. Next to the stairs was a service elevator. Hannes pressed the button and pulled the chain door aside. They clambered into the small space.

        “This here is the service elevator,” Hannes explained, pressing a button. The elevator shuddered and rose steadily towards the next floor. Hannes had to yell over the creaking and the groaning sounds of the gears. “You are to only use this elevator when you’re working. Don’t bring any cleaning supplies onto the public elevators; it looks unprofessional. The first floor is the lobby, and the second floor is mostly just where the employee lounge is located. It’s also where the changing rooms are. You’re to change into your uniform there, and then report to me to get your floor assignment.”

         Eren glanced at the elevator panel. There were a total of twenty-five buttons. The first twenty were just floor numbers, but the last five were different. One button was “L” for the lobby floor, three were “G1”, “G2”, and “G3” for the different parking garage levels, and the last button was red and next to a keyhole. It was labeled with a “B”, which Eren guessed was for the basement.

         “What’s in the basement? Why’s it locked?” Eren asked.

         Hannes also glanced at the basement, then quickly looked away again. “That’s where the testing labs are. It’s dangerous for just anyone to be wandering down there, so they keep it locked. You won’t go down there, so don’t worry about it.”

         Eren wondered if that was the same lab that Hanji worked at. The elevator stopped and the doors shuddered open. Hannes slid the chain door open again and held it open for Eren. They both exited and opened the door. The second floor was quiet, everyone probably working. Hannes led Eren through a bunch of open rooms containing TVs, sofas, refrigerators, coffee makers, and the like.

         “Do they even need this many break rooms?” Eren asked Hannes, looking around all of the rooms. There were even rooms with beds for sleeping and shower rooms.

         “Maybe,” Hannes answered, “If anyone took breaks.”

         Hannes opened a door to a locker room. He pointed towards the far corner locker. Eren opened it. The locker was wider than he thought, with a shelf at the top and three pegs. One of the pegs had a blue jumpsuit hanging from it. He took it off the hook and replaced it with his sweater, quickly shedding his pants as well before zipping up the jumper.

         “Alright, you look ready,” Hannes observed. “I’ll show you the rest of the floors. There’s a large supply closet on this floor where we keep all the cleaning carts. Every floor has a smaller closet with supplies for restocking purposes. Every day you come in, come straight to the second floor, get changed, grab a cart, and get to work. I’ll have your floor assignments for the day written down on this whiteboard right here, okay? Oh, and you need to report to me before you start working so that I can sign that paper you got for your community hours and stuff. You got that, right?”

         Eren nodded and pulled the folded up paper out of his sweater. He handed it to Hannes. The man looked it over and signed the paper, handing it back.

         “Look, son,” Hannes began. Eren stiffened, recognizing the change in tone. “I won’t ask what you did to get arrested. Just know that you’re really lucky to get off so easily by being in this program, and that I won’t tolerate any rule breaking, got it?”

         Eren looked up at Hannes. “And I just want you to know… I didn’t do what I was put in jail for.”

         Hannes stared at Eren for a long moment. Then, he ruffled Eren’s hair. “Yeah, I believe you.”

         Eren smiled. He was probably going to get along with Hannes just fine, after all.

         Eren rode the service elevator to the top floor. Hannes said he only had to clean the top offices since it was his first day at work. The elevator wobbled and creaked noisily as it rose. Eren tugged at the collar of his jumpsuit uncomfortably. _I know Hannes said to keep it zipped all the way up, but this damn collar is cutting into my neck!_

         He unzipped the jumper all the way, tying the sleeves around his waist. Eren pushed the cart into the first room near the elevator and started vacuuming. All of the floors seemed to be designed the same way: two meeting rooms on both sides of the elevator and then offices further down the hallway. Hannes had instructed Eren to make sure every meeting room was vacuumed and the furniture wiped down properly before moving on to the floor in the hallway. Rooms were the last thing to do. None of the office doors in Trost Tech were locked, but employees tended to work at all hours, so Eren was to knock on each office door before entering the room to clean. Every desk had locks on the drawers, so Eren was to stay away from the desks except to dust and wipe down the surface.

         After Eren had finished cleaning the first meeting room, he pulled his cart out of the room and into the hallway. As he turned to do the next room, a vaguely familiar voice called out to him.

         "Eren Yeager?"

         Eren turned and looked up. The owner of the voice was Erwin Smith. He smiled politely at Eren, walking over with papers in his hands.

         Eren nodded at the man. "Good afternoon," he said.

         "So, this means that you're the boy doing our little troubled youth program, correct?" Erwim asked with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting..."

         Eren didn't know what was "interesting" about it, but he nodded anyway. "Yes, sir."

         "None of that," Erwin chided in a gentle tone. "No calling me sir. I thought we knew each other better than that."

        _Do we?_ "With all do respect, sir, I don't have anything else to call you."

         Erwin made a dissatisfied face. "Alright, I'll give you a pass this time," he relented with a sigh. "What brings you up here?"

         "I'm supposed to be cleaning the offices," Eren explained. "Is this a bad time?"

         "No, it's fine," Erwin assured him quickly. "In fact, I'm perfectly free right now. You can clean my office and we can have a talk..."

         "And just who the hell is free?"

         Eren froze. Levi strode over to where Eren and Erwin were standing, an irritated look on his face. It took Eren a moment before he realized that the look wasn't at him. Levi regarded Erwin with an expression a parent would give a child in trouble.

         "Ah, Levi, I was just talking to your boy here," Erwin said with an innocent smile; too innocent.

         "Erwin," Levi warned. "You have a ton of papers to go over in your office. And not to mention approving the locations for the branches. Now come on."

          Erwin placed a hand on Levi's shoulder. Eren expected Levi to glare at him or shake him off, but Levi let him continue touching him. "Are you my VP or my secretary? I have one of those, you know."

         "And a fat load of good she's doing, isn't she?" Levi's voice sounded venomous, but Eren didn't actually sense any hostility.

         Levi turned and walked past them down the hallway. Erwin looked after him, then glanced at Eren. He gave an apologetic smile.

         "Perhaps another time, then." Erwin followed after Levi.

         Eren barely heard him. He was in shock. _Levi... didn't even look at me. He barely even glanced my way._

         Eren tried to rationalize it. He knew Levi was working; it was perfectly logical to assume he was the type who separated work and private. He probably should have expected something like this to happen. But, this was different. Levi didn't even acknowledge his presence. And the way he acted with Erwin was so... familiar. Much more than with just a boss and his subordinate. _Are they actually friends or something? Like him and Hanji?_

         Eren didn't like it. He didn't like being ignored. He pushed his cart down the hallway after them, closer to the door. It was slightly open, revealing a sparsely furnished but extremely tidy office that Eren assumed was Levi's. Erwin was standing just outside of it, speaking through the opening.

         "...those printed and copied for me. I'll be waiting in my office," Erwin was saying as he left.

         Eren peeked inside Levi's office. The gentle whir of the printer was the only sound as Levi stood there. He steeled himself and knocked on the door.

         Levi turned and looked at Eren, the only surprise on his face registered by the raising of his eyebrows.

         Eren swallowed. "Can I come in? To clean, I mean."

         "Does it fucking look like I need you to clean?" Levi asked. But he didn't say no.

         Eren opened the door and came in with the cart. He left the cart there and made a beeline for Levi. The youth hugged Levi with all his might, crouching to lean his head to the older man's chest. Levi leaned against his desk, arms resting on the desktop. He made no move to hug Eren back.

         Eren looked up at Levi. "You're mean."

         "I was giving you space to think," Levi answered flatly. Eren wanted to wipe that uninterested look off his face. "So? Have you made your decision?"

         Eren's insides churned. He didn't really know if he had decided or not, but being ignored by Levi so blatantly was definitely worse than anything else he could imagine at the moment. So he nodded.

         “...I have.”

         “Good. I was tired of all this waiting around.” Levi didn’t look like he had missed Eren at all. Meanwhile, Eren was in shambles from just one measly day without talking.

         Levi stared at Eren, who immediately dropped his eyes. Levi grabbed Eren’s chin and lifted it up so that their lips were inches from each other. Eren strained his neck so he could meet Levi’s lips, but Levi’s fingers gripped him harder. He had been with Levi so many times now that the pain in his chin Levi was causing was almost pleasurable. Eren reflexively tried to stop himself from feeling the fire that was spreading in his groin, giving him a sweet numb feeling in his hands and feet. Levi parted his lips slightly, hot air blowing onto Eren’s lips.

         “Say it.”

         Eren trembled. He opened his mouth as well. “Yes,” he whispered in a desperate low voice.

         “Yes… what?” Levi was going to make him say it. Eren choked down his pride and licked his lips.

         “Yes,” he said, his voice dripping with need. “I’ll be bottom.”

         A hint of a smile touched Levi’s lips. He kissed Eren slowly, dragging his tongue in a sensual dance inside his mouth. Eren reached up with trembling hands and ran his hands through Levi’s soft hair, loving the feel of it. Levi bit down on Eren’s lower lip. The pain made him whimper, almost undoing him right there in the middle of Levi’s office. Levi sensed this and pulled away, too soon for Eren.

         “Go ahead and finish your work,” Levi said, pulling Eren closer. “I’ll be home when I’m through with this. Wait for me.”

         Levi took a key from the drawer of his desk and reached around Eren, sliding the key into the back pocket of Eren’s jumper. He gave his ass a squeeze as he did so. Eren flinched violently. Levi smirked at him.

         Levi left Eren in his office, breathing heavily and feeling really hot in his jumpsuit. Eren fanned himself with a folder for a little bit, then he started cleaning. He raced through the rest of the cleaning, skipping Erwin’s office completely since both he and Levi were still in there. Once Eren had finished, he rode the service elevator back to the second floor, stowing the cleaning cart into the closet before heading towards the locker room. Hannes was already there, sitting on the bench in the center of the room and reading a magazine.

         “Done up there?” he asked. Eren nodded. “Not bad for your first day. Let me go ahead and sign that paper, then you can go ahead and go.”

         Eren gave Hannes the community service form. Hannes looked up and stared at Eren’s face. Eren touched his cheek in confusion. “What is it?”

         “Your lips is bleeding, son,” Hannes observed, squinting. “You get in a fight with the vacuum or something?”

         “Oh,” Eren said, blushing bright red. He turned away so Hannes wouldn’t see and quickly got changed.

         Hannes chuckled. “You’re a funny kid.”

         Eren hurriedly stuffed his arms in the sleeves of his green sweater and stuffed his from into his pocket, almost sprinting out of the locker room.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a quick PSA for all of my readers: in case anyone was wondering exactly what happened to Eren after Levi tied him up in Chapter 24, I promise I have not forsaken you guys! That particular scene, along with many other juicy details, can be found in my mini series, Walking Dogs And Shitty Brats. Feel free to red it if you're curious! (That series is also written in Levi's point of view, so even better! Get a rare look into the thoughts of our quiet and brooding main character as he takes Eren along for the ride of his life...)  
> But enough about all that. Back to the main story!

           "Welcome back," Eren said to Levi as he entered the living room, undoing his tie as he walked.

           Levi didn't respond, heading straight into the kitchen to make tea. Eren sat stiffly on the couch, waiting. He had showered and was in a t-shirt and boxers. He had even washed his hair with shampoo and conditioner. _I am totally prepared for this! Bring it on!_

           Levi set the kettle on the stove and turned it on. He turned and regarded Eren from the kitchen, an unreadable expression on his face. It was unnerving.

           "You can unclench your ass now. I'm not going to do anything to you tonight," Levi said.

           Eren blushed, looking down. "I-I wasn't... I was just..."

           "I had a long day today and a lot of people were pissing me off," Levi explained. "Let's just call it a night and go to sleep. I'm tired."

           He said that, but Eren suspected that Levi was saying that because he could sense that Eren was nervous. And while Eren did trust Levi completely with his body by now, he still felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest.

           Eren and Levi had been dating for almost two months now. In that time, Eren had been shown the world that Levi lived in almost every night. It was actually no wonder Levi had never tried dating anyone before; Eren wasn't really sure the types of people who had Levi's brand of sex looked for a relationship beyond one or two nights. Eren would be tied up with the tie or sometimes bound to the bed with actual rope, then Levi would climb on top of him and tease every inch of his body, telling him in that voice that he only used in bed not to orgasm. If Eren did, he'd be punished, and Levi would start all over again. The punishments varied. Sometimes Levi would bite places until he drew blood, then gently lick the wounds; other times, he would use a whip or flogger, giving Eren little pinches on his belly and legs that would leave light red marks. Eren couldn't quite explain how he felt about the punishments. The first hit or bite always hurt, but eventually everything would feel really good, almost as if the pain melted into pleasure. Eren's body would get overstimulated from the  sensations, and it would be even harder not to come when Levi started teasing him again. When he couldn't stand it anymore, Levi would release him, and Eren would enter him. Sometimes Levi didn't even untie him, and would just ride Eren. Either way, they would go at it until Levi came as well. Afterwards, Levi would look over Eren's body, checking all of the marks left and rubbing ointment or lotion into them. At first Eren protested, but Levi would shut him up with a look and continue. Eren still didn't understand why, but he felt like Levi had to do it.

          Eren's thoughts were interrupted when Levi came to sit down in his armchair across from the couch. Levi took a sip of tea and set it down on the table. He took off his jacket and laid it on the armrest.

          _He looks tired_ , Eren observed. The youth stood up and approached Levi, getting on his knees in front of the older man's legs.

          "What?" Levi asked, looking down.

          "Would you like me to rub your feet for you?" Eren asked, placing a hand on Levi's thigh.

          Levi didn't say anything. Eren took this as permission and unlaced Levi's shoes, taking them off and placing them on the floor. He slid Levi's socks off next, exposing his feet. Eren started to gently knead and massage one. Levi closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

          "You look like crap, old man," Eren commented with a chuckle.

          "Shut up, brat."

          “Want me to massage your shoulders, too?”

          “With the hands that you just used to touch my feet? I’d rather die.”

          “Then how about a bath?”

          Levi looked down at Eren with a raised eyebrow. “Are you trying to get me naked?”

          Eren blushed. “N-no! I was just trying to, you know… I mean, you look like you had a long day and all…”

          “I don’t take baths, brat. That’s basically just lounging around in your own shit water for an hour.”

          “You could take a shower and then take a bath,” Eren suggested.

          “That’s just a waste of water.”

          Eren’s head drooped in disappointment. He switched to Levi’s other foot in silence.

          “I guess I do want to get the sweat of the day off my body as soon as possible,” Levi relented. “I’ll go take a shower.”

          “Okay!” Eren jumped up and Levi stood up from the armchair to head for the bathroom. Eren started to follow him. Levi looked back at him.

          “What, are you planning on taking another shower?” he asked skeptically.

          “I can’t?” Eren would have thought Levi the Clean Freak would have been overjoyed that he was going to willingly wash his body twice. Especially since there were days when Eren just didn’t feel like showering and Levi would call him gross.

          “I just want to take a shower,” Levi sighed.

          Eren was starting to get the picture. He frowned. “You don’t want me to come in with you because you don’t want to have sex? But, I thought we were.. You know, that stuff in your office and all…”

          Levi ran a hand through his hair in a huff and put his hands on his hips. “I swear, being with you makes me want to smoke,” he muttered, patting his pockets for his cigarettes that they both knew were sitting in a pocket in his jacket on the armchair, where he always had them.

          But Eren wasn’t about to let him go and change the subject like that. “Levi, fucking explain this shit to me.”

          Levi glared. “Look, you’re the one still hesitating. Don’t get all pissy with me about it.”

          “If you know all that, then what’s the problem? Or are you saying that we just aren’t going to have sex at all until I’m ready to be the bottom?”

          “So you admit you’re not ready to be bottom. Why’d you go and say yes then?” Levi asked in an irritated voice. “Don’t say shit you don’t mean.”

          “You fucking kicked me out! What else was I supposed to say?! And not to mention you were being all seductive and touching me and I couldn’t even think straight; hell, all I wanted was a kiss!”

          “I swear, you kids are all controlled solely by your dicks…”

          “It wasn’t like that, and you know it! I hadn’t seen you-”

          “For two days. Tough.”

          Rover started barking and scratching the door of his room, interrupting Levi and Eren’s argument. They both looked at the door for a minute, seeing a way out. Eren went over to open the door without looking back at Levi. Rover hurries out and jumps on Eren’s legs, barking enthusiastically.

          “Alright, alright, boy, I’ll take you out,” Eren said to Rover in a falsely upbeat voice, patting the dog’s head. “Just let me get your leash…”

          Eren glanced up, but Levi had already disappeared into his own room.

          Rover pulled Eren roughly to his favorite flower bed near the big fountain in The Wall Park. He usually didn’t mind Rover’s ferocious tugging, but that night Eren stumbled all over the pavement trying frantically to keep up. When they finally reached Rover’s destination, Eren just pulled the leash off his wrist and let the dog go have his fun. He just wasn’t in the mood to really keep up that night. Eren went over and sat down on a nearby bench, sighing heavily. He ran a hand through his hair and drooped his head, content to just sit there and feel sorry for himself until he got up the courage to go back to Levi’s place. _Oh man, I’m starting to call it “Levi’s place” again. Until this weekend, that penthouse felt almost like home._

          Rover started barking loudly and Eren looked up. In the distance, a woman was walking unsteadily down the park path, a goofy grin on her face. Eren figured she was probably drunk and was about to ignore her as she walked by until he caught a glimpse of those familiar glasses dangling from a chain around her neck.

          “If it isn’t little Eren!” Hanji exclaimed when she saw him properly. She sat down on the bench and slung an arm around Eren’s shoulder.

          “Hanji?!” Eren said in surprise. He covered his nose. “You reek of alcohol.”

          Hanji laughed, her head falling forward before snapping back up. “Yeah, I was just at the bar with some coworkers. I may have had a little too much to drink.”

          “A little?”

          “Anyway, Eren! Are you walking Rover? Isn’t it a little late for a kid like you to be walking around the dangerous park all by yourself? Levi should be with you or something! He is so irresponsible with stuff like this.”

          Eren tried to keep his face neutral when she mentioned Levi’s name. “No, well, I just wanted some air and Rover was barking and driving Levi crazy so…” Eren trailed off; his words sounded false even in his own ears.

          Hanji regarded him for a minute, trying to focus her eyes properly. Then she stretched out her neck and tilted her head back, looking up at the starry night sky. “You know, me and Levi have actually known each other for a really long time. We met in college. I think I had a freshman class with him, composition or history or whatever. He isn’t much different than now, always rude and unfriendly, always looking like their was a stick up his ass. Except back then, he looked a lot more… sad. Like he was suffering through something really hard. I wanted to know what, so I became his friend, or more accurately, I followed him around everywhere. He never did anything fun, either, just studied and did his homework like a freaking robot, so I took him to  a lot of clubs and parties that I liked to go to. Some of the clubs that I frequented in my college days were a little… _risque_ , if you know what I mean.”

          Hanji wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Eren tried to hide the blush that was forming on his cheeks because he knew exactly what kind of “risque” clubs she was referring to. _So that’s how Levi started doing all of the stuff he’s into._

          “I think that’s when me and Levi really became friends,” Hanji continued, going back to looking at the sky. “I think I gave him something when I took him there, some way to control himself so he never lost it in public, some kind of outlet for all of his frustrations. Whatever reason, Levi got really into it. And I like to think that the change in him afterwards was a good one. Or, even if it wasn’t, it was definitely what he needed. He came out of his shell a bit more, I convinced him to get his first tattoo…”

          “Tattoo?” Eren echoed. He thought back, and could vaguely remember a black and white wing tattoo adorning one of his biceps.

          “Yeah. He didn’t tell you about that? It was my idea. The ‘Wings of Freedom’... He would wear this black tank top to the clubs that showed off his arms and everyone would be melting all over the floor. He even had me hot a few times. I did a good job drawing that design, too.”

          _Hanji can draw? And wait a minute, Levi used to wear that same tank top to the club?!_ Eren didn’t know how he felt about that.

          They both sat in contemplative silence for a moment, Hanji fanning her slightly red face. Eren looked over at her. Hanji was in a blouse and a pair of jeans with flats on, not much different from anything else he had seen her in, except she wasn’t wearing a lab coat this time. He couldn’t even imagine her being involved in half the stuff that Levi did.

          “Do you.. still do that kind of stuff, too? BDSM…”

          Hanji grinned at him. “Eren, you never ask a girl about her private life, that’s rude! But, well, since it’s you… Let’s just say that Levi and my tastes differ somewhat. He was always into bondage and control, while I was more of an... _actress_. I liked the theatrical parts. You know.”

          No, Eren didn’t know, but judging from Hanji’s smile, he didn’t want to. “Why are you telling me all this?”

          “Well,” Hanji said, standing up and stretching her arms in the air. “Frankly, because you look down, kiddo. Probably from another fight with Levi. And my point in telling you all this is that Levi has been a certain way for a really long time now. This is probably his first time trying to change the way he is in a long while, and I think you should cut him a little slack. I know he’s not the most understanding or emotional guy, but in his own way, he really is trying to care for you. And I can promise that he will never hurt you. Well, emotionally, anyway.”

          Eren almost choked. “Hanji!”

          “Sorry!” Hanji said, giggling. “now, it’s late. Go on back to Levi. He’s probably cooled down by now.”

          Eren stood up, too. He gave Hanji a small smile. “Thanks for talking to me.”

          “You’re very welcome,” Hanji said warmly, reaching to run a hand through his hair. “Levi doesn’t know how lucky he is, getting to have a cute little creature like you all to himself. You should really let me do some tests sometime…”

          “Uh, I really gotta go,” Eren said evasively, escaping Hanji’s touch. He picked up Rover’s leash off the ground and tugged. “Come on, boy, let’s go!”

          “At least tell me what it’s like with Levi next time!” Hanji called after him. “I want every detail!”

          Eren pretended not to hear.

          The front door was unlocked when Eren came back. The living room was empty, but he could smell the remnants of recently brewed tea in the kitchen, so he knew Levi was still awake. Eren quietly put Rover back into his room and shut the door before walking down the hallway to Levi’s bedroom. Eren poked his head inside. There Levi was, sitting in bed, reading a book next to the lamp and holding a teacup in that strange grip of his. He looked up when Eren walked in.

          “You’re back.”

          Eren simply nodded. His eyes darted around the room nervously. “What are you reading?”

          Levi set the book and the tea down on the nightstand. “Nothing interesting. Just a story about a war.”

          “Oh,” Eren said for lack of anything better. He approached Levi’s side of the bed. “Levi, listen-”

          “Don’t,” Levi cut Eren off, getting out of the bed. “Let me go first.”

          He left Eren in the room, walking into the closet. Levi came back with a black box. Eren stared at it, confused. “What is this?”

          “Just open it.”

          Eren took the box from Levi’s hands and gingerly lifted the lid. What stared back at him from inside was… his key? Eren’s hands quickly went to his throat, where the familiar string of black leather was. He pulled it out from under his shirt and stared back and forth at his own key and identical key in the box, growing more and more confused. “Levi… what?”

          “I had a copy of it made, when you left it at my place that one time,” Levi explained. “It took so long to get here because it was damn hard to find someone that would shape it for me out of the same metal as yours. Did you know that dinky thing is actually made out of gold? I thought it was knock off copper painted gold or something. Everyone I talked to kept going ‘we can’t make a key out of gold, that’s absurd’. Finally got some old guy to do it, but he had to mail it to me.”

          Eren stared in disbelief. “But, I don’t understand…”

          “I had my locks changed. And it wouldn’t make much sense if I didn’t have a key to my own house,” Levi said with a shrug.

          All at once, Eren understood what Levi was getting at. He looked at the key in the box, identical to his own in every way, and felt his eyes sting. “You know, when a couple exchanges house keys, this isn’t really how it goes.”

          “Well, it’s not an exchange, is it? That’s my key.”

          Eren laughed, a dry laugh that made his stinging eyes start to water. “You’re such an ass.”

          “Look, kid…” Levi gently took the box from Eren’s hands. “I told you from the beginning that I’ve never done anything like this before. So I’m probably doing this too fast, or out of order, or however the hell this goes. But, it’s too late for you to start backing out now. I’ve gotten used to you now. I like the way you smell; it’s like the top of a pine tree in the middle of the summer. It’s all over most of my clothes and my bed and my furniture, and usually that drives me crazy, but… it’s familiar.”

          Levi wasn’t looking at Eren, and he was scowling with his hand over his mouth. Eren smiled; this was Levi when he was embarrassed.

          “A-and since I can’t  get rid of the smell at this point, it doesn’t matter if you have a key or not!” Levi finished in a huff. “And if you can come and go when you want, it’ll just annoy me if you’re all jittery and shit, so just forget about what we were talking about before!”

          Levi turned away and climbed back into the bed, promptly fluffing his pillow angrily and pulling the covers over himself. Eren couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he walked closer to Levi’s side of the bed and slowly pulled the covers back, revealing Levi glaring at him.

          “Levi… thank you.” Eren said and gave Levi a quick kiss on the lips.

          Levi’s hand shot out from under the covers and gripped Eren’s neck, pulling him in for another. This one was deeper, Levi’s tongue immediately finding an opening in Eren’s open mouth and exploring. When they broke apart, Eren touched their foreheads together.

          “Can I ask you a favor?”

          “What?”

          “Can you show me your shoulder, the one with the tattoo?”

          Levi looked puzzled, but he pulled down his right sleeve, revealing the black and white wings that Hanji had described. Eren ran a finger over them, wondering how he could have missed them. _But then again, I miss a lot of things. Like us, for instance. Levi just wanted me to be a part of his world, and I’m over here being a whiny bitch about it. Don’t I trust him?_

          Eren’s resolve hardened as he stared at the tattoo and he kissed it. Levi shuddered.

          “We just made up,” Levi protested. “I don’t think I’d test me right now, brat.”

          Eren smiled knowingly at that. “Maybe I’m doing this on purpose.”

          “Then you’re an idiot who’s about to get taken advantage of unless he gets his ass into pajamas and into this bed right now.”

          Eren chuckled and obeyed, leaving Levi to change quickly before climbing into bed. He scooted close to Levi and for once, the older man didn’t complain. Levi even flipped around so that he was facing Eren.

          “So that key, who gave it to you? I can’t imagine a friend giving you a pure gold key,” Levi said suddenly. Eren’s face darkened for a moment.

          “...My dad gave it to me.”

          Levi knew that face; Eren had made it before. It was the face of someone who wasn’t ready to dive any deeper into those particular memories just yet. Levi understood that all too well. He shrugged, letting the matter drop.

          “Get some sleep. We both have work tomorrow.”

          Eren hugged Levi from behind. "You're not going to ask?"

          "Do you actually want me to?"

          "Not really..."

          "Then no, I'm not. We all have crap we'd rather not talk about. You don't know everything about me yet, either."

          Eren sighed happily. "Thanks."

          Levi grunted in response.

          "Let's tell each other everything one day, okay?"

          "...Okay."


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, long time no post!  
> Guys, you have no idea what I had to do to finally be able to post this. My wifi is gone in my home right now, so I have been frequenting coffee shops and McDonalds' and anywhere I can find to get this chapter typed and posted. I am now on my college's campus even though I don't have class today, just so I can post this chapter for you guys. I hope you feel the love. Because I am giving my last bit of internet connection to you.   
> Enjoy!

          Eren groaned as soon as he entered the break room the next morning. “Armin, you didn’t tell me Horseface was joining us,” he complained loudly as he sat down with a thud at the table Armin and Jean were eating lunch at. Jean scowled.

          “And why wouldn’t I be here?” he asked in a challenging voice.

          Eren continued speaking to Armin as if Jean hadn’t opened his mouth. “When you said you two were placed in different departments, I had hoped that at least your lunch breaks would be different so that I could have you all to myself.” That said, Eren leaned his entire body heavily on Armin, who struggled not to fall out of his chair.

          “Eren, this isn’t school,” Armin reminded him. “It’s not like being on different branches means we have lunch at different times. As far as I know, this is when all the interns have their lunch.”

          As if to prove Armin’s point, a group of interns chattering noisily walked through the break room, opening the refridgerator door for their lunches or making a cup of coffee. One of the girls waved in Jean’s direction. He smiled and waved back.

          “Isn’t that Mina from accounting?” Armin asked, grabbing hold of Jean’s sleeve. “Why is she waving at you? You’re with sales.”

          “Sales has something to do with accounting. And besides, she’s just being friendly,” Jean said with a shrug.

          “You must be really well connected already to know her…”

          “Nah, I don’t know her so much as I know her boyfriend, Nac.” Jean grinned suddenly. “Are you jealous?”

          Armin blushed. “N-no!”

          “You are! You’re jealous!”

          “Shut it!”

          “Am I gonna get in trouble for talking to Thomas in my department, too? You know our cubicles are right next to each other.”

          “Alright, you two go be a couple somewhere else,” Eren said with a disgusted look. “People eat in here, thank you.”

          “Shut the hell up, Yeager,” Jean said with a glare, putting an arm around Armin’s shoulder, who proceeded to bury his red face in his hands. “I’ll reaffirm my boyfriend’s feelings for me wherever I want.”

          “Jean!!” Armin protested loudly, trying to scoot his chair away from Jean’s with little success. Jean laughed.

          “You three are being so loud,” Mikasa said, coming into the breakroom. She sat down in the last vacant chair at the table and put a salad and a roll on the table. “Eren, where’s your food?”

          Eren looked sheepish. “I forgot my lunch at Levi’s.”

          Mikasa’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You didn’t even pack a lunch, did you? How dare that short bastard let you leave the house without making one. I swear, you should just come home instead of living so irresponsibly at your boyfriend’s house.”

          “Hey, I _did_ make one!” Eren protested. He hated it when Mikasa talked Levi down like that. “I just forgot it, okay? Back off.”

          Mikasa sighed. She shoved her roll towards Eren. “Eat it. You can’t go back to work on an empty stomach.”

          Eren ignored the roll, turning his head away in defiance. “I don’t want it.”

          The room got twenty degrees colder. Mikasa fixed Eren with a deadly glare and picked up the roll. “ _Eat it_.”

          “No.” Eren met her glare dead on.

          Armin and Jean shrunk back. “Um, Eren…” Armin spoke up timidly. “Maybe you should take the roll.”

          “Not until she- mmf!” Eren had opened his mouth to speak, and Mikasa had rammed the roll straight into it. Eren choked on the bread as she mercilessly forced it down his windpipe. He swallowed noisily, coughing. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

          "You'll thank me later," Mikasa said, getting up to retrieve a fork for her salad.

          "The hell I will," Eren grumbled, frowning deeply.

          "Go pout somewhere else," Jean said. "You're pitiful expression is making it hard to eat."

          "Jean..." Armin chided.

          "What?"

          "Don't worry about it, Armin," Eren said, standing up. Armin looked up at him. "I can't really enjoy our lunch break together with all of these eyesores around anyway." He made sure to shoot Mikasa a pointed look as he said that, making sure she knew that she was also unwelcome.

          Mikasa paid little attention to Eren's little speech, eating her salad calmly. Eren stormed out of the break room, pissed. He was about to walk towards the locker room and maybe take a short nap before he had t go back to work, but Eren caught sight of a fluttering lab coat and heard the jingle of a chain holding glasses at the end of it. _Hanji!_

          Hanji turned the hallway before Eren could call out to her. He followed after her, walking quickly to try to catch up to her before she got on the service elevator. He couldn't follow her down to the basement, after all.

          Eren started to jog, but it was too late. He turned the corner just as the doors were closing with Hanji inside. Eren pressed the button to open the doors. _I never see Hanji at work. I really want to thank her for last night, too. Levi and I made up because of what she told me._

          Eren rapidly pressed the elevator button over and over again, fueled by that thought. The elevator groaned in protest and the doors opened haltingly. Hanji was no longer in the elevator though. Eren was about to give up, but then he heard a strange creaking noise. He stepped inside the elevator and saw that the keyhole next to the button for the basement was shifting. Eren must have caused it to malfunction when he was pressing the button so much and now it couldn't shift back into the locked position.

          _Maybe... I can go down there now._

          Of course, Eren's main purpose was to find Hanji, but he was also seized with a burning curiosity about the basement. What exactly was down there? Eren had figured out quickly that no one had a definite answer for him. His peers only tilted their heads and looked at him as if the thought had simply never occurred to them. And Hannes, well he refused to talk about it at all. He'd just shake his head and claim it was none of his business what was down there.

          Eren pressed the button. He half expected nothing to happen at all, but to his surprise, the elevator shook violently and began its descent. His heart was seized with anticipation as the seconds ticked passed, even the air feeling still and eerie. The elevator at last came to a grinding halt and Eren was able to slide the metal door open.

          The hallway looked nothing like the brightly lit corridors of the lobby and upper floors that Eren was used to. The wall was embedded with small lights, shining brightly in some spots and making everything else dim by comparison. Eren stepped out of the elevator and started silently when he saw his shadow dance around him. He looked both ways; there were paths to both the left and the right, both making a sharp turn several feet ahead. He had no idea which way Hanji had gone. There was no sign to point the way, either.

            _I’ll just go right then._ Determined, Eren turned to the right and strode down the hall, trying to ignore the loud echoing sounds his shoes made in the otherwise silent path. He followed the turn and just as he did, a figure dressed in a white lab coat stepped out of a room while consulting a clipboard. Eren smiled in relief.

          “Hanji!” he called, lifting his hand to wave.

          The figure looked up. Eren’s hand dropped uselessly to his side as he realized that this person was tall, way too tall. Blue eyes very much unlike Hanji’s regarded Eren with a look of utter shock. Eren stood frozen as Erwin Smith, CEO to Trost Tech, approached him with a lifted eyebrow.

          “Eren… Yeager?” the man said in disbelief.

          Eren’s mouth felt dry. “Y-yes, sir.”

          “What are you doing down here? I’m sure you were told that the basement is off limits to all but designated personnel.” For once, Erwin hadn’t corrected Eren about calling him “sir”; Eren wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

          “I… was looking for Hanji,” Eren said lamely. “I had something to tell her, but the elevator closed before I could get to her, and then I pressed the button…”

          Erwin regarded Eren silently as he struggled to explain what he was doing in a restricted area. _Oh man, I’m fucking screwed… Will Levi find out about this? Oh shit, this is his boss. Will Levi get in trouble because of me? After he did all he could to help me out, too… I’m so stupid!_

          “So, you know Hanji as well,” Erwin concluded, his face betraying nothing. “What a small world we apparently live in.”

          “W-well, she treated me once…”

          “Oh? Levi didn’t tell me that.”

          Eren kept his mouth shut, scared to reveal anything else that Levi might have neglected to tell Erwin. _I mean, Levi pretty much made up some outreach program to keep me from going to jail. That’s got to be bad. And now that I think about it, the fact that we’re even dating would probably be really, really bad for his boss to find out, right?_

          Erwin gave Eren a pleasant smile. “Well, I’m pretty sure Hanji is very busy at the moment, so I don’t really think we should be bothering her. Why don’t you and I go back up to my office and have a chat, though? I haven’t really had the pleasure of talking to you, Eren, and I want to know how you’re fitting into the workplace. I’m sure it can be disorienting at times.”

          “Oh, no, really, I’m fine…” Eren protested.

          “I insist.” Erwin was still smiling, but the hand he placed on Eren’s shoulder was firm. There was no room to argue.

           Once they were in Erwin’s office, Erwin told Eren to have a seat. Eren regarded the armchair placed directly in front of the desk warily before sitting down. He felt like he was about to be interrogated.

           Erwin sat down behind his desk and gave Eren a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry about forcing you up here, Eren. I’m sure you feel like you’re about to be interrogated.”

           Eren jumped a bit at that. This man was so perceptive that it almost scared him.

           “And while I’d love to say that you aren’t,” Erwin continued in a conversational tone. “I do have some questions for you. Is that alright?”

           Eren nodded slowly. _It’s not exactly like I can refuse, can I?_

           Erwin placed his hands in front of him on the desk. Eren noticed that his hands were rough, visible scratches and calluses on them. He wondered what a CEO could possibly be doing to get those types of hands. Surely not from desk work…

           “I’d like to know about that night, if you don’t mind,” Erwin asked, interrupting Eren’s pondering. “What were you doing in the park that late? And why exactly were you arrested?”

            Eren gulped. “Well, actually, I fell asleep on a bench at the park. You see, sir, I- um, I skipped school that day, to clear my head. And before I knew it, I was waking up and it was already dark.”

            Erwin narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t you leave immediately then? You must have known about the unsavory practices that take place inside The Wall at night. No one in their right mind would want to be seen wandering around there at night.”

            It wasn’t any surprise that even someone like Erwin knew about the Titans. That was just how much they had grown in recent years. He might even be working with the Titans as well. The thought filled Eren with disgust. He quickly denied it in his head; Trost was a technical company. What could they possibly need with a bunch of drugs?

            “You’re right,” Eren agreed. “And I tried to get out. But before I could, I encountered a Titan, and then the police showed up, and before I knew it, I was in handcuffs.”

            “I see,” Erwin said, sitting back in his chair. “And where does Levi come in all this?”

            Eren panicked. Where _did_ Levi come in that? He still wasn’t completely sure himself how Levi knew about his arrest. Eren supposed he could have been passing through the park again, walking Rover in place of Hanji. _Oh well, I’ll just make something up._

            “Eren?”

            Eren looked up. “Oh, well, uh, I think Levi was there, in the park.”

            Suddenly, Erwin went very still. Eren froze as well, unsure of what was happening. “Is that true?” Erwin asked quietly.

            “What?”

            Erwin’s face had changed. Eren recalled this change from the diner, when he got that phone call about work. Gone was Erwin’s casual smile and easy nature, peeled off like a mask and replaced by a very serious expression that could send a grown man running in the opposite direction. Eren wondered if this was his true face after all. He also wondered in a panic what he could have possibly said to cause Erwin to reveal his true colors.

            “You saw Levi that night? In the park? Is that true?” Erwin asked again, with slightly more urgency.

            Eren backtracked. “W-well, it could have been someone else, but I’m pretty sure…”

            “What was he doing there? Did you see?”

            Eren realized with a start his mistake. _How could I be so stupid? If Erwin knows what happens in the park at night, and I say I saw him there, of course Levi’s boss is going to think that he might be involved with the Titans! Oh man, I’m going to get Levi in so much trouble!_

            “There was a dog,” Eren blurted out quickly. “He might have been walking it.”

            Erwin visibly relaxed at that.

            “Sir?” Eren questioned nervously.

            “What did I say about calling me ‘sir’?” Erwin reminded Eren with a smile.

            Eren let out a relieved breath; Erwin had reverted back. Good.

            There was a knock on the door, and Levi entered the office holding a stack of documents. “Hey, Erwin, about this chart…”

            Levi looked up and stopped talking when he saw Eren sitting there. His eyebrows raised and he regarded them both in silence.

            “Levi,” Erwin said. “You should really wait until I say something after you knock. There might already be someone in here.”

            “Nevermind that,” Levi said dismissively. “Why is he here?”

            “We were having a talk,” Erwin said simply. Levi glared.

            “What about?”

            “Are you that curious?’ Erwin questioned, his tone playful. But his eyes were piercing.

            “Very,” Levi answered, approaching Erwin’s desk and slamming the documents on top of it. “I’m dying to know if it’s more important than all this work you shoved on to me because you were ‘too busy’ to get it done today.”

             Erwin chuckled at that. “Alright, you caught me. I was just using Eren here as an excuse to not do my work.”

             Levi rolled his eyes at that. “Well, if you don’t mind getting back to doing what you’re paid to do, I’ll just take this one off your hands so he can do his job as well.”

             With that said, Levi yanked Eren up by the arm and they left Erwin’s office together. Levi didn’t say anything as they walked towards the elevator together, but he didn’t release Eren from his grip. He pressed the button and they stepped inside.

             As soon as they were inside, Levi pushed Eren against the wall and shoved his knee into Eren’s crotch, hard. Eren groaned and sank lower against the wall. As soon as he was at eye level, Levi kissed Eren, quickly invading his mouth with his tongue. Eren grabbed fistfuls of Levi’s shirt, barely able to breathe in between kisses. Levi kissed a line from Eren’s mouth down to his throat, licking Eren’s collarbone. Eren whimpered.

             The elevator dinged and Levi released him. They both stepped out onto the first floor, Eren a little weak in the knees.

             “Wh-what was that..?” Eren asked breathlessly.

             “Just getting a bit of a charge,” Levi commented.

             Eren tried to stop his blush, with little success. “A charge?”

             “Yeah, since we won’t see each other for a few days.”

             Eren stopped walking. “What?”

             Levi stopped walking as well, looking back at Eren. “Don’t come by my place for a while.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, it's been a while, guys.  
> Sorry about the immense delay, first off! Midterms kicked my royal ass, and then spring break ran away from me before I even knew what was happening. You know that regular college bullshit excuse. I am going to try to get back on top of things in the next few weeks and hopefully dish out some more chapters. Who knows, maybe Levi will finally get back on top of Eren... (And you now, maybe I'll try actually writing in a solid lot between all of that smut.)  
> No guarantees, though. Enjoy!

         Eren stared at his cellphone and sighed. No new messages or missed calls. He was starting to get antsy with all this waiting. _Maybe I should call him again…_

         Mikasa walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn. She took one look at Eren, laying on the couch upside down with his head almost touching the floor, and shoved him off the couch with her foot. He landed on his head with a thud.

         “Ow! The fuck was that for?” Eren demanded, struggling to right himself. He rubbed his head.

         “You were in my way,” Mikasa answered without missing a beat. She proceeded to sit down on the cushion he had been laying on.

         “I was sitting there first!”

         “This couch is directly in front of the TV. If you’re just gonna sit around and stare at your cellphone, go sit on the other couch.”

         Eren grumbled, but didn’t argue any further. He shifted to the other couch and flopped onto it, unlocking his phone screen again. His screen saver stared back at him, a picture he had taken of Levi drinking tea one morning; Levi hated pictures, so this secretly taken photo was the only one Eren had of him. It was lucky Eren had managed to snap such a good one, too. Levi was staring out the window, his bangs messy and out of place because he had just woken up. He was wearing a simple white shirt with boxers and had his legs crossed. Eren thought Levi was beautiful in everything, but he particularly liked Levi in casual clothes like this. It seemed like a sight that Levi didn’t show a lot of people, after all.

         Eren sighed again. _And usually I would be at Levi’s house, enjoying that view… Damn business trip…_

         Levi had left on a business trip that weekend. Eren didn’t know when he would back; all that cryptic bastard had told him was not to come around the condo for a while. He had told Eren in the middle of a workday, after kissing him in the elevator no less! Eren hadn’t known what to think. It wasn’t until Armin mentioned to him that Erwin and Levi were going on a business trip that Eren learned the truth at all. He had left Levi a bunch of messages, but Levi hadn’t answered him back even once. He stared at his silent phone with dread; it was going to be a long weekend.

         “Okay, get out,” Mikasa said suddenly.

         Eren looked over at her. “What?”

         “Get out,” she repeatedly pointedly. “I can’t enjoy my long-awaited day off with you moping around here. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for the CEO to go on a business trip so I wouldn’t have to come in on a damn Saturday?”

         “Does he go on business trips a lot?” Eren questioned. “Does Levi always go with him?”

         Mikasa grimaced. She was still trying to process the information that one of her bosses was dating her little brother. “I guess he does. At least once every other month. And as far as I know, the CEO always brings his advisor with him.”

         Eren frowned. So he was going to have to deal with this every other month?

         “Ugh, quit bringing me down with you!” Mikasa complained, throwing popcorn in Eren’s direction. He opened his mouth and caught some. “Seriously, I want your negative vibes out of here!”

         “You’d kick your own brother out?” Eren whined.

         Mikasa looked at him unsympathetically. “Honestly, I wasn’t even sure you still lived here.”

         “How cruel! Of course I do! Where’s Armin? He wouldn’t allow you to say such evil things!”

         “Did you not hear him leave this morning with Jean? They’re going sailing on Jean’s father’s boat or something like that.”

         “Even Armin has forsaken me? What a state this family has fallen to…”

         “Oh shut up.”

         “Fine.” Eren got off the couch. “I’m gonna go take a nap then.”

         “Whatever. Just make sure you do something with yourself today. If you stay in that filthy room too long, you’ll grow mold.”

         Eren rolled his eyes as he closed the door to his room. He half-expected to hear Levi's voice just then, telling him not to roll his eyes at his elders or something like that. But instead all he heard was silence. Eren collapsed on top of his sheets and closed his eyes. _Of course I won't hear him. Levi's not here._

         Eren woke up to a silence. Not just room, but also the living room. Mikasa was either in her own room or she had gone out. Eren sat up sluggishly and stretched. He felt no better after sleeping. It felt odd to be in bed by himself after all this time, and he just didn’t feel satisfied. Eren wondered if this newfound physical dependence on Levi was healthy. He slowly got out of bed and put on clothes. Without any real destination in mind, Eren left.

         He wandered the streets aimlessly, not really focusing on anything. It was a sunny day, perfect for a walk. The perfect weather was wasted on Eren. He couldn’t get any joy from it. With a sigh, Eren crossed the street.

         “Hey, Eren!” a voice called out to him. It was Historia, sitting at a cafe table with Ymir.

         Eren approached them. “Hey.”

         “Woah, doom and gloom much?” Ymir commented, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Who died?”

         “Ymir, that’s not nice!” Historia chastised. She gave him an apologetic smile.

         Eren knitted his eyebrows. _Do I really look that bad?_

         “Yeah, whatever,” Ymir said dismissively to Historia, turning back to Eren. “Seriously, though, Yeager. Are you okay? Krista saw you coming up the street and she got so worried that you might just start walking into oncoming traffic that she called out to you before I could stop her.”

         “Ymir! Don’t say it like that!”

         “What? I can’t show concern for my friend?”

         Eren didn’t know if he and Ymir could really be classified as “friends”, but he knew that at least Historia’s concern was genuine. He gave her a small smile.

         “I’m fine, really,” Eren assured her, patting her shoulder. “I’m just a little pissed because Mikasa kicked me out of the house.”

         Ymir laughed at that. “Man, that girl is the best! She doesn’t let your lazy ass get away with anything, does she?”

         Usually Eren would have argued that, but instead he just gave them a pained smile. “I don’t see anything wrong with just spending a day in the house…”

         “Well, since you’re out, you might as well go and make out with that rich boyfriend of yours,” Ymir said with a devious wink. Eren winced at the mention of Levi.

         “Eren?” Historia said, noticing his expression. “What’s wrong? You can tell us.”

         But Eren shook his head. “Seriously, it’s nothing. I gotta go. Bye.”

         Eren hurried away from Historia and Ymir, desperate to escape Historia’s worried gaze and Ymir’s interrogation. Those two made a seriously good combination. It just wasn’t fair sometimes.

         Eren’s feet brought him to that same diner. The smell of coffee wafting from the entrance reminded Eren so strongly of the first time he had come with Levi that he walked in without thinking. It took Petra less than a minute to spot him from behind the counter. She rushed over excitedly.

        “Eren, hi! It’s been so long!” she said happily, clasping his hands with her own.

        Eren shied away from her positive energy but still managed an awkward nod. Petra didn’t seem to notice his behavior at all though, guiding him by his hand towards a booth in the back. She sat him down and then plopped in the seat across from him.

        “You and Levi haven’t been by for ages it seems,” she remarked, bringing up the exact subject Eren wanted to avoid. “So when I saw you come in, I got so happy that I couldn’t help myself! So, how are you doing? Is Levi getting along well? Mike says almost every day he misses that poetic way Levi holds a coffee cup and drinks the coffee he made, you know. It’s super annoying.”

        “Poetic”... Eren started laughing at that. Once he started though, he couldn’t stop, until tears came out of his eyes. Eren tried wiping them away, but they wouldn’t stop. Petra looked at him with a worried expression.

        “Eren. What’s wrong, hun?” she asked, placing a hand on top of his. Eren gripped her hand back, squeezing it.

        “I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Whenever he’s gone, all I do is think about him, and if he’s thinking about me, and that I want to touch him. When did I start loving him this much..? I can’t seem to stop.”

         Levi had entered Eren’s life so suddenly, walking a dog and smoking a cigarette. One look at him was literally all it had taken for Eren to be attracted to this blunt, foul-speaking stranger, and before he even knew it, Eren was head over heels in love with him. Eren didn’t know how to contain this growing emotion in himself; every cell in his body burned to be near Levi again, and it had only been a day. Maybe it was the uncertainty of when the next time they saw each other would come. Or maybe Eren had just always been like this.

         Someone set a cup of coffee in front of Eren. He looked up and saw that it was Orou. The man sniffed and looked away with moist eyes.

        “I once tried to drink coffee the way Levi does,” he said in a quiet voice. “My hand slipped and I spilled scalding hot coffee all over my lap. Love burns us all, Eren.”

        Petra and Eren stared at Orou for a moment. Petra burst out laughing, grabbing her sides. Eren took a sip of the black coffee. It was bitter, way too bitter, and burned his tongue. He smiled down in the mug. “Thanks.”

        Petra wiped tears from her own eyes. “How about the special, Eren? On the house.”

        “I think since I did more for the boy, I should be the one to serve him his special,” Orou insisted with a dignified air. Petra rolled her eyes and headed for the kitchen. “H-hey, wait! Petra! Come back here!”

        Eren took another sip of the coffee. _Yup. Still bitter as hell._

        Even so, he finished it.

         Eren didn’t leave the diner until the late afternoon. The sun was beginning to set. He didn’t feel like going home yet though, so Eren turned away from the direction of home and headed the opposite way. He thought about going to sit in the park, but even that thought was painful. His emotions were too raw to be in the same place where he first met Levi. Eren passed by the Maria entrance to The Wall without stopping.

          _That reminds me… What about Rover? Surely Levi didn’t just leave him there?_

          It wasn’t until the looming towers of the castle came into view that Eren even realized where he had unintentionally started walking. He stopped just before entering the double doors. The doorman looked at him curiously, hand poised on the door handle. Eren’s thoughts swirled noisily in his head as he looked at the doors, not daring to move.

          “Coming in, son?” the doorman finally asked him, opening the door.

          Eren pulled his necklace from under his shirt and stared at it. The gold gleamed in the light, reminding Eren of when his father had given it to him all those years ago. He had guaranteed that the key was in fact real gold and made Eren promise to never sell it. _“This is the key to something special, Eren…”_

          Eren was glad he had never sold it now. Because of Levi, this key now represented something even more precious to Eren: their future.

          “Yeah. I’m coming in.”

          Eren rode the elevator, the sound of his heartbeat pulsing in his ears. For a second he thought he was going to start hyperventilating in the tiny space. Then the elevator dinged and he stumbled out, taking the key from around his neck with shaky fingers and placing it carefully into the slot. The sound of the tumblers in the lock seemed to echo noisily as Eren turned the key. He crept inside, ducking his head and looking around nervously for no reason at all. The lights were off in the foyer. Eren tried to shake off his disappointment. Of course the lights were off; Levi wasn’t there.

          That thought alone almost made Eren turn back, but he steeled himself and pressed forward. _I’m not here for that. I just want to check on Rover, feed him, maybe take him out for a little bit. He must be miserable, cooped up in that room all day._

          It sounded like a terrible excuse even in his own head.

          Eren walked to Rover’s room and opened the door. He was immediately greeted by two paws coming straight as his legs as Rover tried to tackle Eren to the ground.

          “It’s good to see you, too, boy,” Eren whispered softly as he pet Rover’s fur. Rover thanked him by licking his fingers. Eren smiled fondly. “Let’s get your bowl checked, huh?”

          Eren turned on the lights and looked over at Rover’s water bowl and food bowl, which were both full and clean. That was odd; Levi has been gone for at least two days now. Had Rover not eaten?

          Eren pondered this as he walked over to the lone cabinet in the room to find Rover’s leash. He opened the cabinet but Rover’s leash wasn’t there. Eren searched for it, but came up empty. First the food, now the leash. What was going on?

          Eren didn’t know where Levi would keep a spare leash. As far as he knew, Levi ket everything pertaining to Rover in this cabinet. He walked out of the room and checked the hall closet, coming up with nothing. Eren searched through the kitchen, the laundry room, and all the drawers in the living room with no success. He ended up in Levi’s room, still looking for another leash. Eren checked the nightstand drawer and then walked over to the closet. He searched through the drawers, running his hand along all of Levi’s shirts and pants. The longer he searched, however, the less Eren remembered what exactly he was looking for. The smell of the clothes was getting very… distracting.

          Eren picked up a shirt and pressed the fabric to his nose. Even though it was washed, and Eren had no doubt thoroughly, Eren could still make out the faint scents that he had come to associate with Levi. There was the scent of Levi’s body wash, the smell of his favorite cologne, and then the definite odor of cigarettes. Eren sighed heavily, closing his eyes. He could almost imagine Levi was right there with him.

          He slowly walked out of the closet, still clutching Levi’s shirt, and laid out on the bed. The smell of Levi was much more powerful there, almost overwhelming Eren. His mind naturally slid to thoughts of the activities that had gone on in this bed. As he reminisced, Eren reached down to unbuckle the belt on his pants so he could slid them down. His dick was starting to get uncomfortably hard in his boxers. He took another whiff of Levi’s shirt.

          Just then,  the front door clicked open and the unmistakable sound of  shoes hitting the floor filled the otherwise quiet condo. Eren froze in horror. _Levi? Now?!_

          Rover barked happily and ran to assault whoever had walked in. A laugh echoed through the hallway. A laugh Eren recognized without a doubt. The blood drained from his face.

         “Rover, I know I closed the door behind me when I left, so what are you doing out? Then again, I totally forgot to put your leash back, so maybe I left the door open…”

          The voice trailed off. Eren realized with a start that he had turned on the light before coming into Levi’s room. The footsteps approached the room, getting closer. Eren scrambled off the bed and hurried to put his pants back on.

         “Oh my.”

          _Too late. Shit._

         Hanji leaned on the doorframe, openly appraising Eren’s bare ass with a wide grin on her face. He pulled his pants up and turned to face her, cheeks flaming red. That only served to make Hanji smile wider.

         “Hello there, Eren. Am I interrupting anything?”

         Eren wanted to disappear right on the spot.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, gang! I know I've been super slow with my updates lately, but it's just that time of the school year for me, you know? The story's just getting good. though, so hopefully I can muster the energy to churn out some more chapters before summer hits. Then we're really going to have some fun...  
> Anyway, I wasn't sure if this chapter would be trigger worthy or not, but I guess better safe than sorry: in terms of violence, this chapter goes from 0 to 100 really quick. I was as ungraphic as possible with my detailing, but this is a little extra protection just in case. I love all of my little readers and don't want to hurt anyone unintentionally! Proceed with caution and please enjoy!

          “Don’t mind me,” Hanji continued. “I just came to return Rover’s leash. Please, go ahead and finish your... business.”

          Eren blushed. Hanji giggled and turned away, giving him one last wink before she disappeared down the hallway. Eren hurriedly pulled up his pants, hands trembling as he fumbled with the buttons. _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! She’s gonna tell him. She’s so gonna tell him. What kind of person wouldn’t tell their best friend that his obsessive younger boyfriend broke into his ritzy apartment to sniff his clothes while jacking off? I might as well move my shit out of here right now._

          Heart sinking in his chest, Eren reluctantly came out of Levi’s room and closed the door behind him. Hanji was already out of Rover’s room, having put the leash back in its place. She smiled at Eren, who couldn’t find the courage to even look her in the eye, let alone smile back. Hanji gave him a sympathetic look.

          “Don’t worry about it, hun,” she said gently. “I’m not going to tell him. I’ve seen and done way worse things in my day then a cute boy masturbating in someone else’s room. Your little secret’s safe with me.”

          Instead relieved, that statement made Eren even more worried. Exactly who was this woman?

          They left Levi’s apartment, riding down the elevator together. Eren glanced sideways at Hanji’s profile.

          “What’s on your mind?” she inquired.

          “I... I was just wondering if maybe I could help you take care of Rover while Levi is gone,” Eren mumbled, still a little too embarrassed to look her in the eye.

          Hanji made a conflicted face and gave Eren a pained smile. “Actually, tomorrow I was going to give Rover his monthly check up and just keep him in the lab with the other animals for a while…” she explained slowly.

          Eren’s shoulders drooped, visibly disappointed. Hanji tried to put a soothing hand on his back.

          “It’ll be okay,” she reassured him. “Why don’t you just go on home and wait? He’ll be back soon.”

          The elevator doors dinged and opened onto the lobby. Eren brushed off Hanji’s hand and walked out. “Yeah, whatever.”

          Hanji didn’t stop him as he briskly headed home.

          “You’re quiet today,” Miss Rico noted, eyeing Eren from across the room. He had chosen to sit on the love seat, the farthest piece of furniture from her desk that their was in that office. _I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about; I don’t ever talk._

          Miss Rico sighed as if in response to Eren’s thoughts. “You’re not the most talkative student I’ve ever had in here in the first place, but today’s silence is different than usual. You’re upset about something.”

          Was it really that obvious? Eren recalled the concerned looks that his friends had been shooting his way in class all day. Connie hadn’t been as annoyingly talkative. Armin and Jean had stayed in the classroom instead of heading to the roof for lunch like they usually did. Sasha had even offered to give him one of her sandwiches. He must have looked downright depressed for all that special treatment.

          “Very perceptive of you,” Eren said sourly, glaring. Miss Rico ignored his tone.

          “Being perceptive is my job,” she answered coolly. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong or do I have to guess again? Not that it isn’t obvious.”

          “What is it then?” Eren snapped, getting annoyed despite himself. He really couldn’t stand this woman.

          Miss Rico adjusted her glasses and smirked at him. “Trouble in paradise, am I right? Your significant other doesn’t want you around right now. If you ask me, with that attitude, it won’t be long until you’re dumped.”

         Eren winced and stared at the floor. “Yeah, well, no one asked you…”

         “Then let me tell you something else that you didn't ask me,” Miss Rico said, standing up from her desk. She walked over to where Eren was sitting and stood over him. “Don’t make such a big deal out of everything. If someone you care about needs space, just give it to them. Go hang out with your friends, spend some time with your family, try doing something different for a change.”

         Eren looked up at Miss Rico with surprise. _Wow, that was actually kind of helpful…_

         Miss Rico made an annoyed face and smacked Eren on the side of his head. “Stop looking so surprised. I’m actually here to _help_ you, remember? You’re the one making this so damn difficult.”

        Eren smiled, the first real smile in a while. “Sorry about that.”

        She scoffed and turned away from him. “Get out of my office already. Session over.”

        Eren picked up his backpack and ran excitedly out the door. “Thanks, Dr. Brzenska!”

        As he was leaving the school grounds, Eren’s phone buzzed. It was Reiner, asking Eren if he wanted to go to a bonfire in the park that night. Eren smiled, thinking of Miss Rico’s words. Well, here was his chance to listen to an adult for once.

     "Hey, Eren! Over here!" Reiner called in his obnoxiously loud voice. Eren looked up and walked from the gravel path onto the grass where everyone was gathered around a modest campfire. Deeper into The Wall, through the Rose entrance, are a bunch of camping and picnic sites. As long as the citizens brought their own supplies, the grilling equipment and fire pits could be used at any time.

      Eren sat down next to Armin and Jean, who were lounging on a blanket closest to the warmth of the fire. Even in his green sweater, Eren was shivering from the cold. He hadn't been out to the park much lately and it was getting chillier.

      "Hey! Get your own damn blanket, Yeager!" Jean complained, shooing Eren away.

      "There's plenty of room for him, Jean," Armin protested sharply.

      "Yeah, Horseface, there's plenty of room," Eren agreed with a smirk. "Don't be such a snob."

      "Did you tell Mikasa to get some more blankets when she got off work?" Reiner asked Eren. He nodded.

      "Where's everybody else?" Eren asked, squinting in the dark.

      "Connie and Sasha are on their way," Bertolt explained. "Sasha wanted to stop by the convenience store for some snacks first. Connie doubted we bought enough for her before we left work."

      "No one can buy enough food for that girl!" Reiner retorted. "And I was about tapped out just buying alcohol!"

      He tossed Eren a beer from the cooler sitting besides him. Eren caught it easily and twisted off the cap. He downed the bottle, feeling like he was definitely going to need something stronger to make it through this night without thinking of you-know-who...

      "Oh yeah, where's your hot boyfriend at? I was sure he would be joining us," Reiner asked immediately. Eren's head drooped.

      "H-he's not coming," Eren said quickly, looking away.

      "Why?"

      Eren got annoyed. "Does it fucking matter? We're not glued at the hip. He doesn't have to be with me every time I go out."

      Reiner put his hands up. "Woah, dude, chill! I wasn't saying that. I just figured after seeing how you two couldn't keep your hands off each other, he would be here, that's all."

       _So much for not thinking about it._ "Well, he's not, okay?"

      "Let's just drop it, alright?" Armin said gently. Bertolt nodded eagerly, placing a restraining hand on Reiner's shoulder.

      "Fine, fine. Let's play cards then! I haven't played King in a while," Reiner added with a wink. "Armin, remember that last time when you-"

      "Stop, stop, don't bring that up again!"

      Connie and Sasha arrived as Reiner teased the hell out of Armin. They positively beamed at Eren when they saw him sitting there. He gave them an awkward wave, happy that his friends had been so concerned about him but unsure how to express it right.

      "Geez, Reiner, I could hear you all the way from the entrance," Connie complained, plopping down next to him.

      "Shut up, like you can even talk about someone running their mouth," Reiner said, laughing. Connie laughed too.

       "So, I brought chips, sandwiches, fruit, some pickles, soda to mix with the liquor, juice, pretzels," Sasha announced, listing all of the various things in the four bags she was carrying.

       "That's quite an impressive spread," Jean said, whistling in appreciation. "I'm proud of you, Sasha."

       Sasha blinked. "What are you talking about? All of this is mine."

       Everyone erupted in protest at that. Eren quietly watched his little group of friends. Armin was like a brother to him; they had been together ever since they were little kids, going to school and karate together every day. Jean has been his rival since he started high school, but truth be told, he wasn't that bad of a guy; at the very least, if Armin saw something in his worthless hide then he must be worth keeping around. Reiner and Bertolt have been Eren's coworkers for over a year now; they had become very dependable friends of his in that time, and he felt comfortable leaving anything with them. Connie and Sasha have been Eren's classmates for a while now as well, and while Connie could be a super annoying clown and Sasha literally onto thought about food, he knew that they considered him a close friend of theirs; and friends looked out for friends.

      All in all, he was a pretty lucky guy. With a difficult personality like his, Eren never thought he would ever have the fortune of gaining so many friends in his life. He would have to make sure not to do anything to fuck it up.

     Footsteps sounded on the gravel. Eren turned, thinking it was Mikasa. "Hey, did you bring those blankets..?"

     "We're not your fucking lackeys, Yeager."

     Eren froze. That voice was not Mikasa. Everyone went silent as they realized that they were surrounded. The owner of the voice stepped into the dim light of the fire and Eren's blood froze.

     "Ape... What are you doing here?" he gasped in a low voice.

     The leader of the Titans grinned at Eren. His smile looked out of place on his scarred face. Ape was very tall and had hair all over his arms and legs. His skin was tanned as if he spent all of his time in the sun, and there were multiple faint cut lines all over his body. His face was particularly bad, with a gash running from his temple to the right side of his mouth, making a grotesque curve whenever he smiled too wide. Everything about this man was unsettling. Eren had felt almost disgusted when he had first met Ape, seeking to become a Titan. That was the only time anyone ever saw Ape, when they are first initiated. Eren had hoped he would never have the misfortune of seeing Ape again.

      "What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm looking for you, of course," Ape responded. He stepped closer and so did the other Titans, as if they were puppets being pulled on strings. The circle surrounding Eren and his friends got tighter. Everyone tensed, fear coursing through their veins.

      "Me?" Eren echoed, trying to stall so he could get into a crouch. As soon as there was an opening, they would have to run as far as they could go. "I don't understand..."

      "Don't play dumb with me, Eren," Ape snapped, smile gone and replaced by a harsh glare. "I lost some good men because of your ass the other week. They all got arrested to make up for your stupid self getting caught up with the police. Is this how you repay me for letting you live after trying to leave us like that? And all over some bitch in the hospital too. I should have just did you in then."

      Eren didn't respond, focusing on slowly inching backwards on his toes. The circle was a little lax on his left. If he could turn in time...

      "Do you think I'm fucking stupid?" Ape snapped his fingers and one of the Titans punched Armin square in the face. Armin flew back, almost landing on one of the logs of the fire.

      "Armin!" Jean screamed. He turned and glared at Ape. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

      "Don't blame me, blame him," Ape said, pointing at Eren. "I don't know what he takes me for, thinking I wouldn't notice him trying to sneak away like a little bitch."

       Eren was running out of options. If this turned into a fight, there was no doubt that the Titans would beat everyone bloody. Looking at Ape's pissed off face, Eren didn't really know if he would just stop at that.

       "What do you want from me, Ape?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

       Ape smiled again. "You finally get your position, huh? I need manpower. And since it's your fault I lost men right before an important scheduled pick up, it's only fair that you be responsible for replacing them."

        _So basically it's join the Titans or watch your friends get the shit beat out of them. Fuck, these options are crap._

        Eren didn't want to go back to that life. Just thinking about all the fighting, the drugs, the disappointed look on Armin's face when he would come home late or Mikasa's silent tears when he didn't come back at all, had him shaking. Not to mention what happened to Annie for just being involved with him. He could never go back to a normal life again. Would he even be able to see Levi?

       "Eren, Armin's head is bleeding!" Jean yelled. He was cradling Armin's limp body in his arms. "That bastard had a chain wrapped around his fist when he punched him! We need to get him to a hospital."

         _Shit! What do I do? What the hell am I supposed to do?!_

         "So," Reiner said, his cheerful loud voice resounding in the night air as he stood up. "You just need men right? You don't care who?"

         Bertolt had silently stood up as well. There were murmurs among the Titans as he straightened his shoulders to reveal his full height. Eren often forgot because of how meek and shy Bertolt was, but when he quietly stood there with that over six foot length, Bertolt could be pretty damn intimidating. And Reiner may be kind of dumb and obnoxious, but with his thick arms and legs that positively rippled with muscle, he looked like he could hold his own against up to ten guys at the same time. Either of them would make convincing Titans.

        "Reiner... Bertolt... No..."

        They both ignored Eren, staring straight at Ape. "Well? What do you say?" Reiner asked him. "Two for the price of one doesn't sound so bad, does it? I was just thinking about quitting my job anyway."

          Ape appraised the two for a moment. Then a grin split across his face. "You're one lucky bastard, you know that, Yeager? First your sister comes and bails you out, and now these two idiots."

          He nods at the other Titans and they dissolve their oppressive circle around the others, leaving the campfire grounds. Ape pats Reiner and Bertolt on the shoulders.

         "Let's go, boys. It's initiation time. I've got to make sure you two are... educated on how we do things as Titans."

          Ape turns to go. Reiner and Bertolt look at each other and then start to follow him. Eren wobbles to his feet in a panic.

         "Reiner, Bertolt, please, you don't have to do this!! I'll..!" He pleads, tears burning the corners of his eyes.

         "Eren," Reiner interrupted him with a small smile. The determination in his eyes silenced Eren. "Call Mikasa. You need to get Armin to the emergency room fast. Take care, okay?"

          Bertolt also looked back at Eren. He dipped his head at Eren. "It was fun."

          And with that, they followed the Titans into the night, disappearing down the tree-covered path. Eren watched them until he could no longer see their figures illuminated by the moonlight.

         Mikasa showed up about half an hour later. Jean carried Armin into the back of her car, yelling the whole time for her to speed up or run red lights. Sasha and Connie couldn't fit in the car with them, so they stayed behind to clean up the campfire and cover up the blood that had spilled on the dirt. Eren rode in the passenger seat, staring out the window as the scenery blurred by. He felt numb, his emotions having not caught up with the events yet.

         They rushed Armin into the emergency room and he was immediately sent into surgery as he hadn't regained consciousness yet. A few hours later, the doctors told Eren, Jean, and Mikasa that he had needed ten stitches and was resting soundly.

         "When can we see him?" Jean demanded.

         "Has he woken up yet?" Mikasa asked.

         Eren said nothing.

         The doctor shook his head. "We believe he might have entered into a deep sleep from the shock of the blow. He has no other injuries though, so he should regain consciousness by morning. We will keep him here until tomorrow."

         "Will he ever wake up again?"

         Everyone's eyes turned towards Eren, who had spoken for the first time in hours. He looked at the doctor sharply with wide panicked eyes. "He'll wake up, right? By deep sleep, you don't mean..."

         The doctor looked away from Eren, causing his heart to drop. "It's... too soon to say for sure, but... He might be in a coma."


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, but to welcome in the summer, here's a new chapter! I don't think you guys understand how crazy busy I have been. I'm not even posting this from my own house. Finals, college transfer applications, trying to find a place to move... Ugh, writing is blissfully relieving all my stress at present.  
> Also bonus: since I know you have all been missing him, I am proud to announce that LEVI IS BACK!!! Please enjoy!

      Armin was transferred to a small hospital room in the corner of a hallway after his surgery. After the nurses switched out his IV and liquids, he was allowed visitors. Jean practically ran down the hallway, bursting through the door. Mikasa and Eren followed him into the room.

      Tucked under two blankets and surrounded by tubes, Armin looked even smaller than usual. His pale skin blended into the white of the room, making him seem like a ghost. The only real indications that he was even alive were the slight rise and fall of his chest and the quiet beeping of the heart monitor.

      "He's completely stable," the nurse informed them. "And unfortunately if you're not a family member I can't let you stay that long because visitor hours are almost over."

      "We're family." Mikasa said this quietly. "And we're staying the night."

       The nurse nodded and left to get some blankets. Jean walked quickly to Armin's side and clasped his limp hand, holding it up in both of his.

       "He's gonna be okay. He's gonna wake up in the morning and everything is going to be okay." As he said this, Jean squeezed Armin's hand tightly.

        "Jean, you're hurting him..." Eren spoke up and earned the full force of Jean's glare. Normally this wouldn't faze Eren at all, but this glare was full of a desperation and anger borne out of his love for Armin. The strength of those emotions directed at Eren was enough to make him shrink back.

        "I'm hurting him? Oh, that's just fucking rich coming from you! It's your fault he's even in here right now!" he yelled, practically spitting the words at Eren.

        "Jean, calm down..." Mikasa said, but Jean was already standing up and coming towards Eren.

        "You know what? I've always wondered why he hangs out with you. I thought to myself, 'Why would he put up with such a no good punk that's going nowhere and always causing trouble?' But I didn't say shit; he loves you and you're the closest thing he has to family now. So I held my tongue and tolerated all your bullshit. But this..." Jean shoved Eren against the wall, holding him there by his shirt.

        "Jean, stop it!" Mikasa yelled, grabbing Jean's arm. Jean yanked it away.

        "This just takes the fucking cake, doesn't it? Look at him!" Jean pointed towards the bed. "Armin is in coma right now! He's in this bed because of your mistakes! And I won't let him get hurt. Not anymore."

         Eren didn't say anything. He couldn't.

         Just then the nurse walked back in. "Visiting hours are over. All non-family members please leave."

         Jean stepped away from Eren, dropping his collar in a huff. "I'll be back tomorrow."

        Mikasa stepped aside as Jean barreled through the door and left the room. The nurse looked between the two of them with a worried look on her face. “Are you two both relatives of the patient..?” she asked tentatively.

        “Yes,” Mikasa answered, her voice hollow. “We are the only family he has.”

         Mikasa dropped a honey bun on Eren’s lap. He stared at it dully. The clock in the hospital room read that it was almost two in the morning. Armin hadn’t moved an inch yet, appearing to be only sound asleep.

         “Eat,” she said, prodding him with her finger. Eren ignored her. “Eren, don’t fucking start. You have to eat something.”

         “Armin hasn’t eaten anything.” Why should he have to, when his best friend was lying there unconscious because of him, unable to even chew food by himself?

         Mikasa sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. “Armin isn’t awake right now, so he can’t eat. But you can.”

         “I’ll eat when he eats.”

         “Eren, if you don’t eat this fucking food right now…”

         “What?!” Eren stood up from his chair, glaring at Mikasa. “You’ll beat the shit out of me? Good! I want you to! I’m tired of everyone I love getting hurt instead of me! It should be me, not him! I should be the one who’s laying on that bed! I should be the one who’s-”

         Mikasa slapped Eren hard across the face. The sound echoed in the tiny room. Eren’s neck whipped to the side and he felt blood pool in his mouth; he bit his tongue. Mikasa’s expression didn’t change as she regarded him coldly, but her hands were shaking.

         “Don’t you ever say that again,” she warned in a grave voice. “I don’t want to hear it.”

         Before Eren could respond, he heard the unmistakable sound of rustling sheets. He turned around to see Armin, sitting up with his eyes drooping in a sleepy expression. Armin squinted at Eren’s red cheek. “Woah, she got you good, Eren. What did you do?”

         Eren didn’t respond. He only rushed to Armin’s side, crushing the smaller blonde to his chest.

         "Wai- Ow, Eren! You're squeezing too tight! I can't breathe!" Armin patted Eren's back multiple times as he struggled. Eren released him, staring at Armin's face. His pale skin had a sickly glow to it and his cheek was bruised from hitting the ground so hard. Eren gently smoothed back his bangs to reveal the bandage that barely covered the scar with protruding silver staples. Armin regarded Eren's own haggard appearance with a worried look in his eyes. "You look awful... How long was I out?"

         "Not too long," Mikasa answered for Eren, coming closer to the bed. She laid a hand on Armin's shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

 _Too long._ But Eren kept his mouth shut; he didn't want to worry Armin unnecessarily.

         "Alright, that's enough excitement for one night," Mikasa said. "Why don't you get some rest, Armin? I'll call the doctor in here to get you checked out and then maybe we can get you discharged."

         Armin nodded enthusiastically. He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and got comfortable, laying back down. Eren hovered next to him, a protective aura emanating from him in viscous waves.

         "Oh yeah," Armin said, stifling a yawn. "I need to text Jean. He's probably worried..."

         Eren's expression darkened. Armin noticed it with some alarm but he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Armin dozed off hoping that two of his most important people hadn't gotten into a fight. Again.

         Armin got out of the hospital around six in the morning. The doctor was simply shocked by his swift recovery from head trauma that extensive, and the nurses were singing the cute blonde’s praises as Eren wheeled him out of the hospital, Mikasa carrying everyone’s stuff close behind. Armin was due to come back in a couple of weeks to get the stitches removed; until then he would be sporting a very conspicuous white bandage around his head that needed to be changed at least twice a day.

         “Well, this is bound to raise questions at school,” Armin said, tapping his bandages with a half smile. Eren didn’t smile back.

         “You aren’t going to school today,”Mikasa cut in, holding up a doctor’s note. “This says bed rest for at least two to three days.”

         “But-”

         “No buts.”

         Armin made a dissatisfied face, but didn’t argue any further. He knew well not to go against Mikasa’s orders when it came to matters dealing with his well-being. They waited outside the hospital doors for the bus in tense silence. Once they arrived home, Armin was forced to take his painkillers and immediately retire to his room. Eren shuffled to the couch and laid down on it, turning on the TV with the remote. Mikasa watched him a moment before speaking.

         “I’m going to take a quick shower and head to work,” she said quietly so Armin wouldn’t hear. He surely wouldn’t have approved of her pulling an all-nighter at the hospital and still going off to work. “You stay home and keep an eye on him for today.”

         Eren nodded. He hadn’t planned on going to school in the first place.

        “Just for today,” Mikasa repeated in a warning voice. “No skipping tomorrow. You aren’t going to start up that habit again, got it?”

        Eren didn’t answer. Mikasa groaned and headed for the bathroom to get ready.

        After she left in a rush, Eren got up and peeked into Armin’s room to make sure he had went to sleep like he was supposed to. He was sitting up on the bed with his back turned to the door. Eren was about to say something, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Armin speaking.

        “...wasn’t a big deal. Really. Yeah, I’m totally fine. The doctor said I was only out for most of the night.”

        He was talking on the phone to someone. Eren could only assume it was Jean.

        Armin laughed a little bit at something Jean said on the other line. “You’re such a worrywart! It was just a small concussion and a few stitches. There was only ever a possibility of me going into a coma.”

        Hearing Armin play off the situation sent a pang through Eren’s chest. That had been the worst night of Eren’s life, sitting there helplessly looking at Armin’s sleeping face, not knowing if he was ever going to wake up again. It might have been a possibility, but it was a very real possibility; the doctor wouldn’t have told Mikasa at all if it didn’t seem likely to happen. Armin’s fast recovery was nothing short of miraculous.

        “Go to school, Jean. I’m just going to take it easy and sleep for today. I’ll be able to go back on Friday for sure. And yes, I already took my meds. They’re making my eyelids droop as we speak.” Armin paused. “I’ll see you after school then. Bye.”

         Armin hung up the phone and got in bed. It was then that he noticed Eren in the doorway. “Eren? What’s wrong?”

         Eren forced a neutral expression. “I was just wondering if you needed anything, like water or something.”

         Armin smiled. “No, I’m fine. I’m just sleepy.”

         Eren nodded, closing the door. “Sleep tight.”

         Eren went back into the living room and threw himself onto the couch, burying his face in one of the pillows. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out to see who had messaged him. The name of the sender caused his breath to catch in his throat.

          _Levi._

         Eren walked down the streets, his hands in the pockets of his green sweater. The last few nights had been bearable, but this night was cold. Eren could feel the chill settling into his bones, causing him to shiver. He wondered if maybe the temperature had always been the same, and he had just been too happy before to notice it. His mood had been sour all day and even the thought of seeing Levi again couldn’t lift it. It was so bad that he bypassed the subway completely, walking across the entire city to the swankier part where Levi lived in the Castle.

         He looked up at the magnificent building and the gloom surrounding him started to dissipate slightly. _I can finally see Levi again. I’ve really missed him so much._

         Eren’s footsteps quickened as he entered the double doors. The doorman smiled and nodded at him, opening the door without question. Eren had long since become a regular there. He waited impatiently for the elevator to let him in and then rode up just as impatiently. Eren stopped short at the door though, hesitating to put his key into the slot. He could still clearly remember the last time he had been inside and just the memory made him want to crawl under a rock. Hanji said she wouldn’t, but maybe she had told Levi after all..?

         Now there was no way Eren could open the door. As he stood there in a panic, the door flew open and a hand roughly dragged Eren inside by his sweater. Before he could register what was happening, Levi had him pressed against the door, one hand slammed against the frame. Even though he was shorter than Eren, Levi succeeded in looking both intimidating and sexy at the same time, looking up into Eren’s eyes with a displeased scowl on his face.

         “You brat, how dare you keep me waiting,” Levi growled in a low voice close to Eren’s ear. He involuntarily shivered. “What took you so long to come by? I sent you a message hours ago.”

         “I…” Eren’s words died in his throat. The truth was he had been waiting for Mikasa to get home from work so she could watch over Armin. Despite what he said, Eren didn’t want Armin to be alone in the house in case something happened. Eren would have still been at home waiting if Jean hadn’t come by and declared he was sleeping over that night. Eren escaped then, partly because he didn’t want to face Jean after what happened in the hospital. “I had school,” he finished lamely, averting his eyes.

         Levi studied his face. “Never stopped you before,” he muttered, stepping back from Eren and walking down the hall. Eren hurriedly took off his shoes and followed Levi into the living room.

         The door from the patio was open slightly, soft jazz music entering the living room. Levi must have been smoking out there. He walked into the kitchen now and started boiling tea. Eren sat down stiffly on the couch.

         “How was your trip?” he asked Levi. The older man gave a disinterested shrug.

         “Boring as hell,” he answered, pouring hot tea into two cups. He brought the tea into the living room and handed Eren a cup, sitting down on his usual chair. He drained the piping hot tea in one gulp.

         Eren chuckled. “Can you even taste the tea like that?”

         “It’s green tea. What the fuck is there to taste? Leaves?” Levi questioned. That made Eren wonder why he even drank it in the first place, but he doubted that Levi would give him a straight answer anyway. He blew on his tea and sipped it tentatively.

         “It’s still hot…” Eren said mostly to himself.

         “That’s when it’s perfect to drink,” Levi insisted, scoffing. “You’re so weak.”

         “I am not! You’re just abnormally strong!”

         The normalcy of their conversation was like a soothing balm to Eren’s frayed emotions. He felt like he could almost cry. Levi noticed his changing expression with a bit of alarm.

         “Hey, what’s wrong with you? You’re being kind of weird today,” Levi commented, peering into Eren’s face. “Usually you’re so… jumpy and happy, like that damn dog.”

         “I’m so glad I’m on the same level as Rover to you,” Eren shot back, forcing a smile. “Where is he, anyway?”

         “Oh, he’s with Hanji still, at the lab,” Levi said in a rush, going into the kitchen to get more tea. “I gotta pick him up tomorrow now that I think about it. But, hey, don’t change the damn subject. You’re acting weird. Why?”

         “Is it so strange to see me being upset?” Eren grumbled, staring into his tea cup. “Even I get sad sometimes.”

         “That’s not what I meant,” Levi said with an exasperated sigh. “This is why I hate brats.,.”

         “Well, excuse me for being a brat.” Eren could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. “But you didn’t text me even once while you were gone. I missed you so much and spent all this time thinking about you, and yet you just don’t care.”

         Eren knew it was wrong to take out his bad mood on Levi, but he had been holding so much in that the words just came spilling out of his mouth. He immediately covered his mouth in shock.

         “...Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

         Levi gave a dry chuckle. “Then you wouldn’t have said it.”

        “No, I…” Eren looked up and found Levi standing right in front of him. Levi bent down and tilted Eren’s head up, covering his mouth in a smothering kiss that Eren eagerly accepted. A tear escaped Eren’s eyelid and slid down his cheek. Lei licked the tear track all the way up to Eren’s eyelashes.

        “Salty,” he said in a teasing voice.

        “Shut up and kiss me again,” Eren pouted, lips searching for more.

        “And when the hell did you become the one giving orders around here?” Levi asked in amusement. “You obviously need to be trained all over again. Let’s go.”

        Levi walked towards his room without turning to see if Eren was following or not. But of course Eren was.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah. I have no excuses for how long this has taken to post, guys. Sorry about that. And I'd love to tell you that this chapter is all action packed and sensual and all the shit I like to write usually, but this one takes a bit of a dark turn for our dear boy Eren. So just be prepared for some pain and a bit of Levi feels to soothe your heart. As I have recently taken on two other projects with a very talented co-author, I don't really know how consistent I will be with updates for a while, but I will definitely try harder to not leave my story stranded for months! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and feel free to check out my other two collaborations as well! Have a great read!

         Eren woke up slowly, his head too groggy to open his eyes. From behind his eyelids he could tell sunlight was pouring into the room and he was much too comfortable for that just yet. He rolled over onto his side and tried to pull the sheets all the way over his head.

         “What the hell… This is exactly why I can’t stand brats…”

         Eren’s movements stopped short at the sound of that voice. He’s eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. There, laying next to him, was Levi, rubbing his sleepy eyes in irritation and yanking the sheets back over to his side of the bed. Eren couldn’t believe his eyes; last night had been a dream, hadn’t it?

         But there Levi was, wearing nothing but a his white button up shirt, now awake and stretching. He glanced over at Eren.

         “Take a picture, why don’t you,” he scoffed. “It’ll last longer.”

         Eren blushed and averted his eyes, the events of last night starting to come back to him. He had showed up at Levi’s late last night and the older man had decided to “retrain” him. They then proceeded to have the longest S&M session Eren had ever experienced in his life. He wasn’t even sure how many times he had orgasmed before passing out on the bed. But if the bite marks and rope lacerations on his wrists were any indication, it had been quite a few. Eren rubbed the spots absentmindedly, counting in his head. _Ten, eleven, twelve… Shit, where didn’t he bite me?_

          Levi watched Eren for a moment before speaking. “You… Last night, you started crying.”

          “Did I?” Eren asked; he didn’t remember doing that. His mind had been a pleasure-filled haze the whole time.

          “And you said some stuff,” Levi continued, studying Eren’s face. He blushed again.

          “D-did I?” Eren repeated lamely. “What did I say?”

          Levi looked at him as if he was searching for something. Eren wondered what he could have said last night. The possibilities were endless and embarrassing.

          “Nothing important,” Levi said dismissively, turning his head away. He sat up. “I’m hungry, so get up.”

          Before Eren could protest, Levi had climbed out of bed. Eren was immediately distracted by the beautiful view in front of him as Levi walked towards the bathroom. He raised an arm to scratch the back of his head and what little of his backside that the thin fabric of his shirt was covering became immediately exposed. Eren had to pinch his nose so he wouldn’t break out into a nosebleed on Levi’s pristine white sheets. Levi looked back at him with a knowing smirk.

          “Don’t get even more stains on my bed, brat. I already have to wash those sheets.”

          Eren blushed at being caught staring. “I won’t!”

          “You better not,” Levi warned, closing the bathroom door. Seconds later, Eren heard the faucet turn on and water running in the shower.

          He laid back down in the bed and turned so he could put his face in Levi’s pillow. That familiar scent of soap and cigarettes invaded Eren’s nose. He breathed in as much as possible, savoring the delightful aroma, relishing the way his own scent had started to mingle with it in the sheets of the bed. To Eren, it felt like he had a place there, in that bed, with Levi. _It’s almost a shame that Levi’s gonna wash them…_

          By the time Levi stepped out of the shower, Eren was still lying down. He made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. “I thought I told you to get up,” Levi pointed out, scowling. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

          “S-sorry!” Eren hurriedly scrambled out of bed and realized with an embarrassed flush that he was completely naked. He searched the floor for his clothes, which were strewn about the room. After picking up his shirt and pants, Eren finally spotted his underwear, but there was a slight problem…

          “They’re ripped!” he exclaimed, grabbing his boxer briefs. Levi made a point to avoid eye contact. “Levi?”

          He walked over to his closet in a huff and fished out a pair of briefs from his drawer. “Here,” he said, still not looking at Eren. “You can have these. It’s only right after that.”

          “After what?!”

          “Hey, you told me to!”

          “I _what_?”

          Levi threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “Enough with all the stupid questions! God, this is seriously why I hate brats. How do you just conveniently forget every detail not important to you?”

          Eren pouted at that. “I don’t just ‘conveniently’ forget. And you’re wrong. Every detail concerning you is important to me.”

          Levi scratches his head in embarrassment at that. Then he turns and walks out the door. “Just… put some clothes on already. I’m gonna go feed the dog.”

          Eren obeyed this time. He slid on Levi’s underwear, which fit him a bit snug, and pulled on his pants. As he slipped on his shirt, Eren realized that the two buttons on the shirt had been pulled clean off, revealing some of his chest. Eren blushed, not needing to guess how that had happened last night, and set to looking for his green sweater to wear so his shirt would be less noticeable. Eren couldn’t find it, even though he was sure that he had been wearing it when he arrived last night. On a whim, Eren checked the bed and was surprised to find it hiding under the sheets. _Why is it on the bed? I sure as hell wasn’t wearing it last night; I wasn’t wearing anything last night!_

          Curious, Eren pressed the fabric to his overly sensitive nostrils. He breathed in the usual earthy smell that always seemed to cling to him no matter how long he showered, and something else familiar. With a shock, Eren made out the unmistakeable scent of cigarettes and soap. Had Levi been wearing his sweater last night? His memory was fuzzy on a lot of things about last night but Eren distinctly remembered Levi’s pale glistening body in the dim moonlight. They had made love so many times that Eren had fallen asleep just like that last night, so he wasn’t sure if he would have even noticed Levi getting out of bed. So Levi must have grabbed his sweater then, and worn it to bed.

          “Are you ready?” Levi demanded, coming back into the room. Eren quickly put his arms into the sleeves of his sweater.

          “Ready,” he replied weakly.

          Levi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What are you grinning about over there?”

          Eren tried to wipe the happy look off his face, and failed. “Nothing at all.”

          The pair walked out of the Castle and joined the throngs of people passing by on the sidewalk. Eren glanced a group of men in business attire passing by and a thought hit him. "Levi, don't you have work?"

          Levi gave Eren a questioning look. Eren gestured towards Levi's outfit, which while it was very fashionable consisting of capris and a white quarter sleeve top with blue stripes, was not exactly something he would wear to the office.

          "Since when is it your job to worry about my work schedule?" Levi questioned with a smirk. Before Eren could reply, Levi took a sudden turn on a street corner, causing Eren to have to pick up his pace to catch up.

          Having walked this path so many times already, Eren immediately guessed where they were headed. And sure enough, soon they were at the entrance of Mike's. He felt slightly embarrassed, remembering how he had just been here, crying into a cup of coffee while Petra and Oruo of all people comforted him.

          "What's the hold up?" Levi asked, standing in the entrance with the door wide open.

          "N-nothing!"

          They walked in and found the diner surprisingly empty despite it being lunchtime, which was the busiest part of the day. Levi took one glance around and walked straight to the counter. He slammed his hands on the desk, loud enough to vibrate through the walls. Eren jumped. Petra ran through the kitchen doors, her hair almost coming out of her loose ponytail. Her eyes widened when she saw who was in front of her.

         “L-Levi..?” she said in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice anyone had come in…”

         “That’s because no one is up here at all,” Levi stated coldly, causing Petra’s mouth to snap shut. “Why is that? You would never do something like this unless you were sure no one would come here.”

         Neither of them could speak for a moment. Levi spoke with such conviction, Eren could clearly feel the years he had spent at this diner, sitting in his usual booth and drinking the black coffee that Mike brewed as Petra and Oruo served him with smiles on their faces.

         Mike Zacharias came through the doors then. He was a tall man with a large pointed nose and stern blue eyes. His dirty blonde hair was wet with sweat from the kitchen fryers and stuffed into a hair net. Eren had never actually seen Mike before. He was more of a presence than anything else, just the outline of a person he could barely make out when Petra or Oruo came bursting through the kitchen doors carrying trays of hot food.

         “Levi,” he said. Just that one word, and Eren could immediately tell that this Mike fellow was just like Hanji. He was one of the few people in this world who had the fortune of being one of Levi’s friends.

         “Mike,” Levi responded with a slight nod. “You’re actually leaving your kitchen for once?”

         “Only because you’re frightening my staff.”

         Levi only shrugged at that. “I asked a question, that’s all.”

         “It’s never ‘all’ with you,” Mike said with a chuckle, shaking his head in amusement.

         “Cut the crap, Mike. I want to know why there is no one in your restaurant.”

         Mike was about as inexpressive as Levi, but his poker face slipped a little bit at Levi’s sudden question. _And if even I noticed it, you’d better believe that Levi noticed._

         Levi waited patiently, his arms crossed. Finally, Mike sighed.

         “It was nothing, really it wasn’t,” Mike started with his hands raised. “We just ran into a little trouble last night. Some punks trying to start a fight in the middle of my place and so I was forced to close early so I could teach them a lesson. But then some of them wrote something… unseemly on the back door and scared away most of our morning regulars. I’ve got Oruo out back scrubbing it off but you know how slow he can be sometimes…”

         Before Mike could finish, Levi was already heading into the kitchen. “H-hey!” Mike called after them. but Levi didn’t stop. Eren hurried in after him, with Mike hot on their tails.

         Levi burst through the back door, knocking Oruo off his feet.

         “What the hell, Mike?!” he demanded, struggling to stand up. “You knew I was still scrubbing this shit off the door, you ass! Why don’t we just close for the day, it’s not like anyone will set foot in here after what the Titans-”

         “What?” Levi interrupted with a glare. “What did you say?”

         “L-L-Levi?!” Oruo stammered. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

         “What did you say, Oruo?” Levi demanded, his voice level but his eyes blazing with a silent fury.

         Eren didn’t even hear the conversation at that point. Levi said something else to Oruo that had him cowering, but it all just sounded like background noise from a radio to Eren’s ears. All of Eren’s senses were focused in his eyes as they read the smudged words that Oruo had been wiping off on the door. But no matter how much he blinked or tried to will the words away, they still said the same thing: “TITANS WERE HERE”.

         “I was planning on driving you to school after lunch, but there’s some shit I need to take care of here,” Levi told Eren in front of the diner entrance. Eren had promised Mikasa he would go to school and if he didn’t go now, there wouldn’t be any more classes for him to even attend.

         “Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Eren assured him, forcing a smile. He knew that Levi was going to stay behind and help Oruo clean the back door off. “The subway isn’t far anyway. I can walk.”

         “I could walk you to the station,” Levi offered suddenly. Eren blinked. It wasn’t like Levi to offer things like that at all.

         “Seriously, don’t worry about it,” Eren insisted, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut.

         “Just… be careful, you brat. Pay attention to your surroundings. Don’t stop anywhere. Go straight to school. and then go straight home after.”

         Eren opened his mouth to joke about how overprotective of a boyfriend Levi was being at the moment, but when he looked into the other’s eyes, the words died in his throat. Levi was staring at Eren’s face intently, his usually dark gray eyes glinting almost silver in the sunlight. Eren realized as he stared absently into that beautiful face that he didn’t usually see it during the daytime. Levi’s skin looked a bit fuller and less ghostly pale in the sun. Their height difference was even more obvious as well, Levi having to look up at Eren in order to stare him in the eyes. It brought a slight smile to Eren’s face.

         “Yes, _sir_ ,” Eren promised, bringing his head closer to Levi’s. Eren intended the kiss to be brief, but Levi had other plans. He tangled his fingers in Eren’s hair and pulled, hard, causing Eren to gasp a little in surprise. Levi took that opportunity to stealthily slip his tongue into the boy’s unsuspecting mouth, deepening the kiss until Eren felt almost weak at the knees.

         “Text me when you get home,” Levi ordered with a glare before turning and heading back into the diner. Eren was left standing outside, a little dazed.

         He stumbled his way to the subway station, his mind a cloudy haze. Levi had definitely been acting weird just then. It wasn’t like him to get so… worried. But it was definitely understandable, considering that message.

          Remembering it put lead in Eren’s heart. Was it really a coincidence that the diner Eren frequented became the Titans’ target? Or, was this too his fault? Eren had figured Ape would be satisfied with just taking Reiner and Bertolt, but now that he thought about it, that had never been the leader of the Titans’ style. Eren could still remember his bad days, causing fights indiscriminately and being chased by different gangs. Then there was the day he caused Annie’s accident and his luck ran out. The gang who had been chasing him that time had been the clean up crew of the Titans. Eren had skipped a lot of meetings and some harsh words were exchanged between him and the other members, leading into confrontation. The Titans weren’t exactly friends, but Ape did have one rule that he strongly enforced: no fighting between members. Eren broke that rule, and Ape sent a team to bring Eren to him that night. Eren had gotten away, but the end game was Annie ended up in a coma. Because of the huge press coverage due to the school she attended, Eren had been able to escape the Titans’ radar; Ape didn’t want his dirty work being dug up by journalists. That was the only rule more important than no infighting: absolutely do not get caught. Normal civilians don’t even know what the Titans look like. All they know is a whispered name that everyone fears.

          From then on, Eren tried to live a normal life to the best of his ability. He went to school, kept off the streets after dark, and made sure he went to parties every weekend, always in a different location and always all throughout the night, so no one would be able to figure out exactly where his home with Mikasa was. Eren knew that eventually he would get found out, though. No one can hide forever. And besides, by now Eren was getting tired of running. He was starting to itch for a fight. Especially after what happened to Armin…

          “Eren!”

          Eren turned. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed walking through the school gates. And speak of the devil, there was Armin, coming towards him with a slightly annoyed expression on his face. Hidden by his blonde bangs, stark white bandages covered his head, a grim reminder of that night. Eren tried not to cringe at the memory.

          “Lunch is already over,” Armin pointed out, shaking his head in exasperation. “The school day is almost half over!”

          “Hey, I showed up, didn’t I?” Eren retorted with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like we even eat lunch together anymore since Horseface started monopolizing all your time.”

          “Yeah, for like three classes. And I’ll have you know, Jean has been very attentive to him all morning even though we’re not even in the same class because someone spent the night at his boyfriend’s place and ditched me!”

          Eren ignored the jab. “At least I’m present at all today.”

          Armin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, or Mikasa would have killed you.”

          “Don’t even say it. It could still happen if she find out I was only here for half the day.”

          Armin nudged Eren with his elbow and winked. “Your secret is safe with me,” he assured him. “Now come on, the bell’s about to ring.”

          Eren followed Armin to their class. He felt like he hadn’t been in school for weeks, even though it had only been one day. His classmates welcomed them back once they walked through the doorway, making fun of Eren for being so late. Connie and Sasha joined in on the teasing, acting so normal it made Eren feel uncomfortable.

          “What was the point of even coming to school, man?” Connie joked too loudly.

          “Yeah, you missed the best part of school: lunch!” Sasha chimed in.

          While Eren tried to brush them off, out of the corner of his eye he saw Armin also being harassed by their classmates, being patted on the back for doing such a good job and bringing a troublemaker like Eren to class after all. Eren was about to turn away completely, unamused, when one of the guys swung his hand too hard and smacked Armin across the head. A tear sprang in the corner of his eye, and Armin bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed as he bared the blow to his bandaged head.

          All Eren saw was the red liquid pouring from Armin’s lip, the same exact red that had come gushing out of his head that night.

          _“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?”_

          That’s what Ape had yelled before one of his guys punched Armin in the face.

          _“Don’t blame me, blame him…”_

           It was all Eren’s fault. He didn’t protect his friends. It was all his fault.

            _“It’s only fair that you take responsibility…”_

           No one else should have to pay. Only Eren. No one else should be sacrificed. Just him.

           “Eren, please, stop! You’re hurting him!”

           That was Armin’s voice. Why was he yelling? He should be unconscious on the floor, bleeding from his head because that Titan bastard punched him. But when Eren looked down at the person he was pinning to the floor, it wasn’t a Titan. It was one of his classmates. He had a black eye and it looked like his nose was broken.

           “Did I do that..?” Eren asked in wonder. He didn’t remember that at all.

           Armin, Connie, and Sasha were staring at Eren in horror. He didn’t like the fearful look in their eyes. He wouldn’t hurt them; he just wanted to protect them.

           “I… just want to protect you…”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all!  
> You know, I thought summer would be less busy, ugh... I have actually been even busier than during the school year, if that's even possible. But I am trying to keep up (somewhat) with updating my chapters, so after a long pause, here is another chapter! Yay! Please read and react and enjoy; hopefully my next chapter will be even better. And by "better", I mean "raunchier", of course.

          “So, what’s all this I hear about you beating the shit out of some student?” Miss Rico demanded as she stormed into the school’s reception area. She was dressed sharply as usual in a white blouse with a black pencil skirt. Even though it was obvious by her flared nostrils and blazing eyes that she rushed here in a blind rage, not even a hair was out of place in her usual tight blonde bun. _Levi and her would get along really well I think. I wonder if Miss Rico would ever consider a secretary job?_

          “Well? Eren, answer me!”

          Eren looked away from Miss Rico’s face stubbornly. “Yeah, well, I’ll let you know when I have some answers.”

          “Don’t get smart with me-!”

          “Eren Yeager.” The receptionist called into the lobby. “The principal will see you now.”

          Ignoring Miss Rico, Eren stood up and entered the office. He was no stranger to trouble, and so he knew the principal of Shiganshina High School all too well. Over the four years that Eren had been in and out of this particular office, he had even came to respect the eccentric man who presided over the school. Eren walked in and sat down on his favorite chair that sat directly in front of Principal Dot Pixis. Pixis was an older gentleman, probably in his late forties or early fifties. His skin was sunburnt and leathery but also thick and muscular, like he had spent most of his life working under under the harsh rays of the sun in some field. Eren often entertained the idea that Shadis had been a farmer; just the thought of the short male in a straw hat made Eren smile.

          But there was nothing to smile about today. The face Pixis was wearing made Eren shuffle nervously in his chair.

          “Eren,” he said, breaking the silence. Eren had always liked the way the principal said his name. He liked to imagine it was like how a father would sound. “Eren, you’ve really fucked up this time.”

          _Well, sort of like how a father would sound when he was scolding his son now..._ “Listen, Pixis…”

          “No, you listen, boy,” Pixis’ voice was stern and Eren shut his mouth. “I can’t cover for you this time, okay? I knew your background when I let your sister enroll you in this school, so I’ve tried to be understanding about your rebellious behavior, but this time is different. One of my students was harmed. You’re going to have to accept the consequences for that.”

          “...I understand.” There was nothing Eren could say. Pixis was right.

          Pixis sighed. He had probably hoped Eren would say something to defend himself, something that would help his situation, but Eren stayed silent. He would take his punishment, whatever it was. It was only right.

          “You’ll be suspended for a week,” Pixis said gravely. “And as I am aware you are currently carrying out one probation sentence, I am going to have one hundred more hours added. You will report to your post at Trost Tech every day of your suspension and work from dawn to dusk. And I’m sorry, but you’ll have to quit your job at the convenience store; we will need all of your focus on fulfilling your punishment. I know Bertolt and Reiner must have stuck their necks out to get you that job. Tell them sorry for me, okay?”

           Eren winced at the mention of those two. Reiner had graduated from Shiganshina High with a track scholarship and Bertolt had been an upstanding member of the student council with a 4.0 GPA. They had been on good terms with Pixis during their four years in high school and he had made sure to keep tabs on them while they were in college. Pixis must have not heard about what happened, though. It was only a matter of time before he found out that those two had dropped out of college without even so much as a reason. And it was all Eren’s fault…

          “Pixis,” Eren said, looking up at the man whom he wasn’t sure he could ever repay for all he had done to get him into this school and back on the right path; sadly, all of that effort might have been a waste. “That’s a pretty light punishment for what I’ve done, don’t you think?”

          Pixis surprised Eren by laughing. “Remember when you first came into this office, Eren?” he asked, staring off into the distance fondly. “Your sister had to drag you here, a grown boy, when she was only junior in high school. She was hellbent on getting you into this school, even if she had to beg me to get you in. But you just stared at me with those same defiant eyes that didn’t take shit from anybody. By all means, I knew you would be nothing but trouble. But I let you in anyway. Do you know why?”

          Eren shrugged. He had asked himself that question every day since he started high school.

          “Because I knew the moment I saw those unique eyes of yours that you would be in for one hell of a life. And I knew that you would need these days, these normal days with your friends, in order to survive what the future had in store for you.” Pixis leaned forward. “My hands are tied this time, but fear not. Your peaceful days aren’t over just yet. Now get out of my office and go on home. Go get slapped around by your sister.”

          Pixis had lost Eren at the beginning of his little speech, but that last sentence Eren heard loud and clear. Just the thought of what was going to happen as soon as Mikasa got home that night was enough to cause his body to break out in cold sweat.

          Eren left the principal’s office and headed back to the classroom to grab his backpack. Lunch was just about over. Students were loitering around the door talking when Eren walked up. The minute they spotted him, however, all of their faces twisted with fear. Eren ignored them completely, brushing past to open the door. The muffled chatter he could hear just before he opened the door turned abruptly to silence. No one so much as moved as Eren walked over to his desk and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

          “Eren,” a voice piped up. It was Sasha. She was looking at him cautiously. Eren could stand it from his other classmates, but knowing that he had put that expression on one of his friends’ faces sent a pang of regret and self-loathing straight to his heart.

          “Hey, man, what did the principal say?” Connie asked when Sasha didn;t say anything more. He tried to make his voice sound light, but it was strained.

          Eren gave them both a decrepitating smile. “I’ve been suspended, effective immediately,” he said, making sure his voice was loud enough for everyone in the class to hear. The palpable relief that followed was almost too much to bear.

          “Then.. you’ll be back, right?” Connie asked. “It’s just a suspension. You’ll be back before long… right?”

          Eren didn’t answer. He just turned to go. But Sasha grabbed his sleeve, stopping him. She dug around in her pocket for a while before pulling out a sucker. She offered it to Eren. He looked from her to the candy with a confused expression. Sasha smiled at him tentatively.

         "I hear sugar is good for your brain," she explained quietly. "Keep studying so you won't fall behind when you get back, okay? We have finals coming up soon."

         Eren stared at her wide eyed. Before he could respond, Connie burst out laughing. "What the hell did you give it to Yeager for, then? You need it more than him!"

         Sasha pouted at Connie. "I'll have you know, my grades are higher than his," she shot back.

        "Which isn't much of a statement."

        "Screw you! Maybe I should give you one! Your grades are worse than both of ours! I don't even know if you'll graduate this year!"

        Eren blinked at the scene before him. The normalcy of their argument was enough to bring a goofy grin to Eren's face. _It doesn't matter if the whole damn school hates my guts with friends like these..._

        "Guys," he said. Connie and Sasha stopped fighting and looked at him. "Thanks."

        They both grinned. "Don't mention it!" Connie exclaimed, slapping Eren hard on the back. He winced. "My bad, dude."

        "It's fine," Eren said dismissively. He looked around the classroom. "Where's Armin..?"

         The air instantly got colder. Sasha's smile faltered a bit as she replied," He's in the nurse's office getting his bandage re-wrapped... with Jean."

          _Well, fuck._ After what he had done, Jean was literally the last person Eren wanted to see. Through Armin, the two had built an almost mutual trust for each other lately. Eren just couldn't completely hate someone that cared for his best friend so deeply, plus actually tried his best to make Armin happy. But whatever feelings Jean had towards Eren in the past had been replaced with pure hatred. And usually Eren wouldn't care, but this time, he couldn't even blame Jean for feeling like that.

        "Want us to go with you?" Connie offered. Eren shook his head.

        "I'm just gonna go say goodbye," he said, trying to keep his voice light. "I have to be off the campus by the time hometown starts."

         Eren waved and left the classroom, students parting in front of his path like a boat cutting through waves.

         Eren hesitantly opened the door to the nurse's office. The nurse was nowhere to be seen, but Armin was sitting on the hospital bed while Jean clumsily wrapped gauze around his stitches with his back to the door. Eren could tell by the way Armin's eyes were crinkling in the corners that he was trying to hold back his laughter.

         "It doesn't have to be perfect, you know," Armin pointed out with a wide smile.

         Jean made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. "This isn't funny. I need to make sure it's not too tight, but tight enough so the bandage won't fall down. God, where's the fucking nurse?"

         This time Armin actually chuckled. "I think you've wrapped it around enough times though. My head is going to look twice as big at this rate."

         "Just a precaution," Jean said, and he added in a mutter, "That bastard smacked you pretty hard."

         "Jean..."

         "And right in your damn stitches, too! Your skin is all red around them now! They'd play around too much, those fucking idiots!"

         "Jean, calm down, alright?"

         "And then there's Eren, the biggest idiot of them all, getting into a goddamn fist fight instead of getting you some help..."

         Eren winced at the mention of his name. Armin then finally noticed him standing in the doorway. Jean followed Armin's eyesight and turned around, scowling when he saw Eren there.

         "And what the hell do you want? A band aid for your bloody knuckles?" Jean spat at Eren, glaring.

         "Jean, lay off," Armin said sharply, effectively shutting Jean up. He hopped off the hospital bed and walked up to Eren.

         "How's your head?" Eren asked Armin, lightly pushing up his bangs to check out the bandage. It was twice as thick as before. Eren couldn't even tell where that guy had hit Armin.

         "It's fine," Armin said quickly.

         "With no help from you," Jean added in venomously. Eren sighed.

         "Look, Jean," he began, but Jean stepped forward between him and Armin before he could even speak.

         "No, you look, Yeager. I don't trust you around my boyfriend anymore. And since I couldn't convince him to move in with me..." Eren's eyes widened in shock at that and he glanced at Armin, who blushed and averted his gaze. "I've decided I'll be staying with him until he heals completely. And to make sure you don't involve him in anymore of your shit."

         "...what?" Eren wasn't sure he had heard that right. But Jean's hard expression told him that he definitely hadn't misunderstood. "Th-there's no way Mikasa is going to let you stay with us..."

         "Actually," Jean interrupted with a nasty grin. "I texted her about this last night. She also thinks that Armin needs someone to be around for him."

          _Okay, ow. It kind of hurts that she wouldn't think of me for that._

         Realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with Jean, Eren turned to leave the nurse's office. "Listen, I just wanted to see how Armin was doing before I left. I see he's in... 'good' hands, so I'll just leave first then."

          "Leave? For how long? You weren't..." Armin trailed off, unable to finish his question. Eren gave a sarcastic laugh.

          "No, not expelled. Suspended, for a week. Plus some extra hours tacked on to my earlier sentence."

          Armin let out a relieved breath at that. Eren left quickly before he could give Jean the chance to retort with anything else. He exited the school grounds through the front gate and walked away without turning back.

          Once he got home, Eren flung his backpack into the corner of his room; it was probably going to be sitting there for a while. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, searching for the orange juice and promptly gulping down the rest of the carton, putting it back into the fridge when he was done. _Mikasa will get a kick out of that..._

          The thought of Mikasa made Eren remember why he was home so early in the first place. He looked around the silent apartment and wondered what the hell he was gonna say. _She's gonna fucking kill me no matter what I say, though._

          Eren didn't want to be in suspense while sitting aimlessly in the house, so he grabbed his green sweater and headed straight out the apartment. There was only one place on his mind.

          It had certainly been a long time since Eren had been to that park.

          Eren sat down on that same bench he was so familiar with and sighed a little. Even in the early afternoon, Eren felt relaxed there in the Wall Park. Despite the lovely weather, he found himself completely alone in this part of Maria entrance. The only sounds were the chirping of birds and the babbling of the water fountain only a few feet from the bench.

           With such a relaxing atmosphere, Eren willingly let his mind wander to the events of the day. Geez, has this been a shitty day. _From the Titans trashing Mike's to getting suspended from school. I should have just stayed in bed this morning..._

           Thinking about that made Eren remember that he was supposed to have texted Levi. Of course, it seemed pointless now, since Eren wasn't even at school anymore. But still, he should send Levi some kind of message. Eren pulled out his phone, sure Levi hadn't even noticed that he hasn't texted. Levi was probably still at Mike's Diner, helping them clean up, or he could have already went to work for the afternoon.

           Eren unlocked his phone and was surprised to see more than ten text messages filling his notifications. And they were all from Levi.

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 12:32 PM):** Are you at school yet?

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 12:40 PM):** Fucking answer me, brat.

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 1:03 PM):** Seriously, answer my text. Did something happen? Are you at school?

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 1:12 PM):** If you're not dead already, you're going to wish you were when I find you.

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 1:28 PM):** You had better not really be dead, because then I won't be able to kill you.

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 1:35 PM):** Or hurt. I'm the only one allowed to hurt you.

            They all continued in much the same fashion. Eren chuckled to himself at the pure malice coming from Levi's texts. He couldn't even sense worry. There really wasn't a cute bone in this man's body...

            Eren opened the last message and the contents sent a pang straight to his heart. Levi...

**My Asshole Boyfriend (SENT 1:59 PM):** Eren. Please.

           Eren was pretty sure this was the first time that Levi had ever addressed him by his actual name. Had Levi been that worried about him?

           Just then, Eren's phone started vibrating with an incoming phone call. Eren almost dropped his phone but caught it just before it could hit the ground and hurriedly answered. "H-Hello?"

          "Where the hell are you?" a very obviously angry voice hissed into the phone. The blood drained from Eren's face.

           "A-at the park..."

           "Get your ass here. Now."

           The line went dead. Eren stared at his phone, heart pounding, wondering just who the hell had called Mikasa. Did they want to send him to an early grave?!

           

            


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! I'm back with more already!  
> Since my schedule has been relatively free lately due to... well, shitty circumstances to be honest, I have decided to fill the empty void in my heart with more fanfic writing. I am very excited about this chapter because I have packed it full to the brim with flashbacks, guilt trips, seduction, teasing, heartache, and all those things us readers crave in a fanfic chapter. I do hope you enjoy!

        Eren cautiously opened the door to their apartment, finding exactly what he feared. Mikasa stood in the middle of the living room, her hands perched squarely on her hips, a dangerous glint in her eyes, and her lips pursed together in a deep frown. Eren closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath before turning to face his sister.

        She didn’t say anything, just stood there and stared straight at him. Eren fidgeted under her gaze, feeling like the room was dropping in degrees. “Wh-why are you home so early?” Eren finally asked, tired of the unnerving silence.

        “I got a phone call,” Mikasa answered simply. Eren silently cursed Pixis for interrupting Mikasa’s work day like that.

        “Well, you didn’t have to come straight home, you know,” Eren said. “What about work? Can you just leave like that?”

        “I’m the fucking manager, if my little brother’s counselor calls and tells me he brutally attacked another student at school, I think I have plausible reason to leave work three hours early.”

        _So it was that bitch..._ Eren shook his head in aggravation. “That’s not exactly what happened.”

        “Well then, please tell me exactly what happened, Eren,” Mikasa said in a strangely calm voice, sitting down on the couch. She was still in her work clothes, which for some reason made her twice as intimidating. Eren couldn't even imagine how her subordinates at work must feel every day taking orders from her. “Because to me it sounded like you lost it and hit a fellow classmate, and then after calling Pixis immediately after, it also sounds to be like you were suspended for a week. What part exactly do I have wrong here?”

       Eren tripped over his own tongue. “W-well, before it sounded like you had it a bit… but now… Yeah…”

       “So, I don’t have it wrong?”

       “...No.”

       Mikasa sighed and pressed two fingers to each of her temples. She looked at Eren with moist, angry eyes. Eren shifted uncomfortably. “Why, Eren? Why did you have to do this to yourself? You were doing so well. Graduation is right around the corner. And now you have a suspension, God knows how many hours of community service, an arrest, and possibly a lawsuit under your belt! What college would accept you after all this? And even if they did, what company would hire you afterward? I just don’t understand how you could jeopardize your future like this…”

       Mikasa’s voice broke then, and she abruptly stopped talking and stood up.

      "Eren, give me your phone and your keys," she said abruptly.

      "What..? But why?"

      "Just do it."

      Eren dug his cellphone and house key out of his pocket and handed them hesitantly to Mikasa. She snatched them from his hands. "Now, I know we agreed that even though I am your guardian, I'm not your parent, and I can't punish you like a parent would... But this shit ends now, got it? I've got to do something before you end up dead in a ditch somewhere. So I'm taking your phone and your key. No calling anyone to take you away, and no getting back into the the house should you try to leave. The only ones who can get you in here are me and Armin."

       Eren's eyes widened in shock. "You're _grounding_ me? Mikasa, that's insane."

       "Well, maybe that's what it's going to take," Mikasa said in a quiet voice. Without one look in Eren’s direction, she picked up her purse and walked back towards the entrance.

       “Wh-where are you going?” Eren asked.

       “Back to work,” Mikasa answered in monotone. “I’m going to be back late, so don’t wait up.”

       “But I thought you said you left early…”

       “I did. And now I’m going back. I have some files I need to approve before tomorrow afternoon, and I’m sure there have been some faxes sent my way.” Mikasa opened the front door. “Don’t you dare leave here again.”

       The door shut and Eren was left alone again. He wandered into his room, collapsing in bed and heaving a long sigh. While thinking about what he was going to do for the rest of the day, Eren remembered with a start that he hadn’t ever answered Levi’s text messages. And now he couldn’t, because Mikasa had his phone. Shit!

       Eren yawned, all of the stressful events of the day starting to make him drowsy. Maybe I can steal my phone back from her when she gets back from work. I’ll basically be risking my life on this, though. Geez, why did I get stuck with such a freakishly strong sister..?

       Eren fell asleep, thinking back to when he did in fact get that freakishly strong sister of his.

**_Ten Years Ago_ **

       Back then, Eren still had a mother and a father. His father, Grisha Yeager, was a researcher as well as a consultant for the forensics department of the police. At the tender age of seven, Eren didn’t quite understand what any of those words really meant, but he did know that his mother was very proud of his father’s job. She would tell Eren over and over again that the work his father did with the police and in his lab was really going to make a difference one day. Unfortunately, Eren would never know just what his mother meant.

       The one thing Eren didn’t like about his father’s job is how late it made him stay out. His mother was a housewife, so when Eren got home from school, he was greeted with her quiet smile in his direction and the smell of delicious food. But they would often have to have dinner without his father, and by the time he did make it home, Eren was already tucked into bed and fast asleep.

       One day, however, Grisha came home early. And he wasn’t alone. Standing behind him and clinging to his jacket sleeve was a young girl with pretty black hair and sad black eyes. She looked back and forth from Eren to his mother with a panicked expression.

       “Carla, Eren,” Grisha said warmly. “This is Mikasa Ackerman. She will be staying with us for a while.”

       Eren didn’t like how closely this girl was clinging to his father. He stuck out his tongue at Mikasa, whose reaction was to shrink further behind Grisha.

       “Dear, where are this child’s parents..?” Carla asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

       Grisha frowned slightly. “Well, that… is classified information. Her parents are suspected to be the next target in a case I’m working on. Apparently the killers are part of a blood occult group whom worship some type of blood disorder that the wife seems to have. We are holding them in protective custody in a safe location for now, but I have yet to determine if this child shares her mother’s blood disorder. While I’m running tests, she will be in our care.”

       Eren looked back and forth at his parents. He didn’t understand what they were discussing, but he did know that ever since that girl had walked in the door, they hadn’t been paying much attention to him at all. Eren glared at the girl whom his father was so concerned with. She stared back at him with wide, afraid eyes. _What a crybaby. I could totally take her, even if she is older looking._

       And for the next few weeks, Mikasa lived with the Yeager family. Grisha enrolled her in Eren’s elementary school, so every morning Carla would make both of them a lunch and walk them both to the bus stop. Eren grudgingly introduced Mikasa to his friend Armin, who also seemed to welcome the annoying girl with open arms. He didn’t get why everyone loved her more than him. And she never looked happy, either. Mikasa was always looking down and her eyes always looked sad. It pissed Eren off.

      “Are you enjoying school, Mikasa?” Carla asked one night at dinner. They were all seated at the dining table, even Eren’s father. He should be super excited, but he knew it was only because of that girl, so a frown remained on Eren’s face.

      Mikasa simply nodded, pushing her food around on her plate. Eren couldn’t understand why she never seemed to want to eat his mother’s delicious food. He slammed his hands on the table.

      “Liar,” he spat at her. Mikasa jumped and looked at him. “Mom, she’s not enjoying school at all. She doesn’t talk to anyone there, and all she does is wait at the front gate for me and Armin afterwards. And she cries every night in her room when she thinks you two are asleep. I bet she just wants her mommy and daddy.”

      Mikasa stared at Eren. He met her stare, wondering what the heck was wrong with her. Eren would kill for all the love she was getting.

      Without warning, Mikasa started crying. Tears poured out of her eyes and her shoulders started shaking. Carla immediately rushed over to comfort her. Grisha turned a harsh look towards Eren.

     “Now, son, look what you’ve done!” he scolded. “Apologize!”

     “No!” Eren yelled back defiantly. “I didn’t say anything wrong!”

     “You see here-”

     “...Thank you…”

     Everyone looked at Mikasa. She was still crying, but now a smile touched her lips. Mikasa ignored the looks and placed a hand on top of Eren’s, squeezing his fingers tightly with trembling hands. “Thank you for noticing,” she choked out to Eren.

     Eren blushed. _This girl… She looks really pretty when she smiles._

     “Y-You’re weird,” Eren mumbled, snatching his hand back.

     That night, Mikasa asked if she could sleep in Eren’s room. Eren agreed, trying to hide his embarrassment. And it was a good thing Mikasa did sleep with him that night, too. While they were all sleeping, the cult group broke into Grisha’s house and tried to kidnap Mikasa. But she wasn’t in her room at all, and upon hearing the ruckus, everyone woke up. The police were called and the group was arrested. After a lengthy interrogation, it was discovered that the members had broken into the police station and figured out where Mikasa’s parents were being kept. They went to the safe house and killed her father along with three other police officers trying to protect him. Mikasa’s mother was killed accidentally by a blow to her head while they were trying to extract her from the house. The cult group was so distraught that they immediately went to look for Mikasa, determined to have at least half the “sacred bloodline” that they so worshipped. The case was closed and Mikasa was suddenly an orphan.

     Grisha insisted on adopting Mikasa. He felt partially responsible for not being able to protect her properly from the cult. “Besides,” he had said to Carla and Eren when he told them what he was doing. “Eren, wouldn’t it be great to have a big sister?”

     Eren looked away from his father in embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess.”

     When they went to pick Mikasa up from Child Protective Services, she made a beeline for Eren and hugged him tight. “Thank you for saving me,” she said happily into his small chest. “Thank you.”

     “I didn’t do anything…” Eren mumbled, embarrassed again. To get her off of him, he shoved a large red blanket in her face. Mikasa accepted the blanket in confusion.

     “What’s this..?” she asked, looking down at him.

     “Wh-when you slept in my bed, you were hogging my blanket,” Eren explained clumsily. “So I told Mom to make you your own blanket. Use that one instead of mine whenever you sleep in my room from now on, okay?”

     Mikasa clutched the red blanket to her chest, squeezing tight. She looked like she was about to cry again, so Eren tossed the edge of the blanket over her head so he wouldn’t have to see. “You’re such a crybaby…” he muttered at her.

     Mikasa sniffed and pulled the blanket off her head. She smiled at Eren, a small embarrassed smile that only served to make him even more embarrassed. But. he didn’t hate it when she smiled…

 

_How she changed from being such a wimp to this monster of a woman I’ll never understand, geez._

      Well, that was sort of a lie; Eren did know how. After Mikasa was adopted by the Yeagers, she immediately stopped crying, desperately adopting the image of a “reliable older sister”. She walked with Eren to and from school so Eren’s mother wouldn’t have to, she helped make dinner, she got good grades and helped Eren with his homework, and she stopped any fight Eren would get into with other boys in school. When Eren’s parents suggested karate, Mikasa eagerly trained hard to become an even stronger person. Then the fire happened…

      Eren tossed and turned in bed, trying to banish those particular memories from his head before he could start reminiscing. There was seriously no need to be going down that road when he was stuck at home and couldn’t even go recuperate at the park.

      Eren sat up. It was too quiet. He was sure school was over, so why wasn’t Armin home yet? _Oh wait, he’s bringing that prick with him, isn’t he? Then they probably have to go to his place first and pack._

      Eren wondered when he had become the useless one in his group. Mikasa grew up so fast that she left Eren behind, going on to graduate high school with honors and landed a job at the best company around before he could even make it to sophomore year. He used to be her hero, letting her into his bed when she was sad or lonely. And then Armin sneakily matured to the point of being in a serious relationship without Eren even noticing, one that wasn’t started by having sex a week into knowing each other and probably has no unhealthy BDSM aspects to it. Connie and Sasha had to be the ones cheering up Eren today instead of the other way around. Reiner and Bertolt destroyed their future for him. Even Horseface was slightly less repulsing, properly taking care of Armin.

     And what had Eren done? So far, all he’s done is disappoint his last remaining family member and injure his best friend.

     Just as Eren’s mood had sunk as low to the floor as it could possibly get, there was a single knock on the front door. He got out of bed and left his room, padding in his socks over to the door to answer it, thinking that the mailman was dropping off a package too big to fit in the cubby hole of their mailbox.

    “Coming, coming-” Eren called out, opening the door.

    All of sudden, the door was slammed open with such a force that it threw Eren back against the wall. A hand reached out and blocked Eren’s escape path, forcing him to stare into the intense gray eyes of the intruder.

    “You didn’t text me back, brat,” Levi said in a too calm voice, managing to successfully stare Eren down even though he was the taller one.

    “L-Levi?!” Eren exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

    “I think the better question would be why haven’t you answered my fucking texts?” Levi snapped back, refusing to let it go. “I told you to text me when you got to school. You didn’t.”

    “Some things happened…”

    “And you couldn’t take the two measly seconds it takes to respond to a damn text?”

    “W-well, it was big stuff…”

    “More important than the shit that happened at the diner? The Titans are a dangerous group, Eren. I need to know that you’re safe. Do you have any idea how worried-”

     Levi bit his lip and abruptly stopped talking, looking away from Eren’s face. Despite Levi’s murderous anger, Eren could still feel his body relaxing just by having him near. It was like Levi was a balm to Eren’s frayed emotions.

    “Levi…” Eren began, but then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

    “...please just be nice to him, alright? We’re all going to be living together after all,” came Armin’s voice from the corridor.

    “I heard you the first fifty times you said it…” Jean groaned in response. “As long as he stays out of my way…”

    Eren didn’t even bother to listen to the rest. He quickly closed the front door and grabbed Levi’s hand, pulling him towards his bedroom.

    “What the fuck are you-?”

    “Shhh!”

     Eren shoved Levi into his room and leaned against the door, listening intently for the click of the tumblrs in the lock to signal him that Armin had unlocked the door. Levi stood in the middle of Eren’s room, regarding him with a chilling glare. Eren tried to ignore Levi and concentrate. He heard the front door open and two sets of footsteps shuffle in. The door closed again and there was a rustling of bags.

     “...your room?” Eren heard Jean ask Armin.

    “It’s just down this hallway,” Armin answered.

    Their voices were getting closer to the door. Eren held his breath as the footsteps started to approach his door. Armin’s room was the old computer room, right next to Eren’s room. Armin and Jean would have to pass his door to get to it. He really hoped they didn’t stop to check on him…

    Eren felt fingers on his pants and looked back in surprise. It was Levi, undoing his buttons with an expressionless face.

    “Levi!” Eren squeaked in a whisper. “What the hell are you doing?!”

    Levi didn’t answer, just slipped his hand into Eren’s pants. Eren’s whole body jolted when Levi’s cold fingers encountered his dick. Levi didn’t stop there, either. His fingers coiled around the shaft and slowly began to squeeze. Eren clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from breathing too loudly. _What the fuck is he doing?! This so isn’t the time for a damn handjob!_

    “Levi, please…” Eren panted. His hips started to grind against Levi’s hand as he started a slow, torturous trek with his fingers up and down Eren’s cock. Eren could already feel precum start to leak. He was losing strength in his legs.

    Levi pressed his entire body firmly against Eren, trapping him on the door. He put his lips right next to Eren’s ear and licked the lobe. Eren shuddered and gasped into his hand. “Prompt response as usual.”

    “Levi, stop-!”

    With his free hand, Levi started to roll up Eren’s shirt. Before Eren could stop him, Levi’s searching hand found Eren’s chest. He caressed one of Eren’s nipples as he stroked slowly up and down on, causing Eren’s body to spasm and buck. Tears started to form in the corners of Eren’s eyes as he desperately tried to keep his voice down. Levi didn’t let up, teasing his nipples and pumping harder on his dick. Eren couldn’t keep this up much longer.

    “Isn’t Eren home already?” Armin asked, right outside Eren’s closed door.

    “Probably,” Jean said enthusiastically.

     Levi licked a line from Eren’s ear all the way down to his collarbone. Eren shivered and bit into his hand to keep from moaning out loud. Tears were streaming down his eyes at this point. Levi squeezed on Eren’s balls with one hand as he twisted a nipple with his other hand, causing cum to start leaking out of Eren’s tip. His hips were positively burning at this point. _Armin, for the love of God, walk past my fucking door!_

     “He didn’t greet us…” Armin said to Jean through the door. “Should we check on him?”

     Eren could have sworn he saw Levi smile just then. This bastard… This is what he wants!

     “No need,” Jean said immediately in response. “The lazy ass is probably just asleep. He has no sense for punishment, after all. He’s probably been asleep this whole time while you’ve been slaving away to copy your notes for his ungrateful ass.”

     “But…” Armin sounded unconvinced.

     Eren was twitching and biting into his hand like crazy. He was sure he broke the skin on his thumb. Levi didn’t let up, teasing all of Eren’s spots without mercy. Eren was about to cum any second.

     “Just leave him. This is your room, right?” Jean said, his footsteps moving further away from Eren’s door.

     “Yeah,” Armin responded, and after a beat, his footsteps also moved away.

     Eren whimpered and slid to the floor, shuddering his release into his underwear. Levi let him fall, examining his cum-splattered fingers. Eren looked up at him through hazy eyes. He was breathing hard, but Levi seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened. Levi took off his jacket and laid it on the bed, sitting down next to it. He crossed his arms and regarded Eren with a disinterest air.

      “Come over here,” he ordered Eren in a low voice, his eyes piercing into Eren’s skull. “Your punishment isn’t over yet.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been sooooo long since I have posted something on here for this story that I am equal parts happy and ashamed of myself. And I even left the last chapter on quite the cliff hanger. Sorry! Anyway here is the latest chapter. I only really have five pages to show for my long five month hiatus. Deplorable, I know. But with the help of your encouraging comments and my desire to see this to the end, hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner next time!

        “What do you mean, ‘not over’?” Eren hissed back. “Wasn’t what you  _ just _ did enough?!”

        Despite his attempt to be defiant, Eren could feel himself hardening again from the anticipation. His body quivered under Levi’s unforgiving gaze. Eren was sure Levi already knew that he would do whatever Levi told him to do. 

        “Don’t make me repeat myself,” Levi said. He started to uncuff the buttons on his wrist, rolling back his sleeves without breaking eye contact with Eren. Eren found the action both unnerving and arousing. Was it even fair for one person to ooze so much sex appeal?

        Eren started to get up, but stopped when he noticed Levi’s hand motioning for him to stop. “What now?” he complained.

        “Crawl,” Levi ordered simply. Eren blinked.

_         ...What? _

        “You’re about to make your punishment worse,” was Levi’s only reply to Eren’s dumbfounded expression. “Now hurry it up. Who knows when those other two will notice our voices and come busting in here…”

        At those words, Eren reluctantly got back on his knees and slowly made his way to where Levi was sitting on the bed. Crawling with a hard on was slightly uncomfortable, plus the feeling of his dick bumping in between his thighs was enough to make Eren’s face turn bright red. By the time he had completed his task, Eren was building up a serious sweat. And he was sure it was only going to get worse. As if to prove his point, Levi spread his legs so that either of his knees were surrounding Eren’s head, forcing Eren’s vision to focus on the older man’s slightly hard dick straining against his suit pants. The youth’s mouth opened to protest but no sound came out; he just gaped at the erotic display before him.

        Levi leaned down so that his lips were next to Eren’s ear. “Good,” he hummed in approval, causing a sweet throb to spasm through Eren’s crotch and hips. It was all he could do to remain upright on his hands and knees.

        “Now, since I obviously can’t trust your hands to work properly, seeing as you couldn’t do so much as to send a measly text message,” Levi drawled, adding a bit of venom to his voice as he said the last part. “I guess I’ll see if your mouth works.”

        It took Eren an entire second to realize where Levi was going with this. The blood drained from his face.  _ He wants me to do that? In this position?! _

        A slow smile stretched across Levi’s lips as he registered the panic on Eren’s face. “I’ve fantasized about making you do this for a while, brat. Who knew I’d get the chance so soon? You must have been itching to get punished this whole time.”

        Eren had most certainly  _ not  _ been “itching” for this at all. While he did have to admit that a small part of him actually welcomed Levi’s punishments, that didn’t mean he was sold on this whole lifestyle or anything. Eren still got nervous every time Levi brought a different toy into the bedroom, or felt a sense of dread when he did something wrong and earned a glare from the raven-haired man. 

        Levi undid his pants and pulled off his belt, binding Eren’s arms behind him. Eren winced; his restraints were tight. He shifted until he was resting his entire body on his knees, which only forced his face further into Levi’s crotch. 

        “Undo the buttons,” Levi instructed suddenly. Eren stared at him blankly.

        “With my mouth?” he asked lamely. Levi regarded him silently, as if to warn the youth from wasting any more time asking the obvious.

        Eren and Levi had done some outrageous things already, but the thought of doing this strangely made Eren very embarrassed. With his cheeks glowing beet red, he slowly opened his mouth and grabbed Levi’s top button with his teeth. The clink of the metal against his molars seemed to echo inside Eren’s head, making him fumble with the button. Once he had successfully unfastened the button, all that was left was the zipper. Levi was fully hard now, causing the zipper clasp to pop out more than usual. While this made it easier, Eren still took forever, embarrassed by the feeling of his teeth scraping against the bulging fabric. Levi didn’t make a move, but his eyes did flutter and close a few times in pleasure. That was enough to get Eren through unzipping his pants all the way down. The tip of Levi’s cock peeked out through the seam in his briefs. Eren stared at it, swallowing nervously.

        He had never expected in his life to ever give a man a blowjob, so Eren really hadn’t ever really studied a penis up close before. Suddenly presented with the full view of Levi’s hard member, Eren found that he couldn't tear his eyes away.  _ Maybe I'm just seriously fucked up but… Levi has a really pretty cock.  _

       “What are you waiting for, it to say hello to you?” Levi snapped, reminding Eren that he had a task to perform. “Quit fucking stalling.”

       Now that the moment was upon him, Eren’s hearts started doing flips in his chest. He parted his lips, a shaky breath leaving. He was really going to do this, wasn't he?  _ Holy shit. _

       Before he could start thinking, Eren shot his face forward with his mouth open, enveloping Levi's shaft all the way to the hilt. Eren kept going until he felt Levi's tip hit the back of his throat, causing his head to jerk back again just as quick. He coughed and gagged. Levi took a sharp breath.

      “Not so deep, you stupid brat!” Levi chastised. “What, did you forget you had a gag reflex?”

      Eren hung his head sheepishly, mortified that he had just literally choked on a dick. He licked the inner walls of his mouth and squared his shoulders, ready to try again.

      “Easy this time,” Levi cautioned as Eren started to once again take him in his mouth. “Make sure you don't get too much teeth. Just use your tongue. Up and down. Yeah, just like that…”

      With Levi's tips, Eren thought he was starting to get the hang of this. He made a slimy trail of saliva on each side of Levi's cock, moving his tongue slowly up and down, occasionally taking the tip in his mouth and sucking. Levi went completely rigid, his eyes fluttering open and closed as he concentrated on the sensations. Eren felt his chest swell with pride knowing that he was the one doing this to Levi instead of just always being at his whim.

      Feeling confident, Eren went for a deep throat again, attempting to take as much of the shaft in as he could. Levi's eyes opened in alarm.

      “Hey, shitty brat, what did I say?” he warned, moving his hips so that less of his cock was in the youth’s mouth.

      “Yeah, but…” Eren protested aloud, forgetting momentarily that he still had a mouthful of dick. Trying to speak caused Eren's teeth to scrape against the flesh in his mouth. Levi's body immediately spasmed, and Eren quickly took his mouth off.

      “I-I’m so sorry!” Eren said but when he looked at Levi's face, the older man didn't look mad at all. 

      In fact, Levi's eyes were practically glazed and there was sweat pooling at his forehead. His chest was heaving as he took ragged breaths. It took Levi a few tries to open his mouth and form a sentence. “I… told you… No… teeth…”

_       He's… aroused? From that? _

      Ignoring Levi's protests, Eren began to lightly nip and suck up and down Levi's cock. His hips jerked and his body trembled, giving Eren a pleasant rush that he had so much control. Finally, he got a little brave and scraped Levi with his teeth just a bit harder…

      “Enough,” Levi snapped sharply, jerking Eren's mouth from him by grabbing his shoulder. “Seriously, you don't do a damn thing I tell you to do.”

      Eren looked at Levi with a puzzled expression. While it was obvious by his flushed appearance that Levi had thoroughly enjoyed being bitten, for some reason Levi also had a conflicted, almost pained expression on his face. What could he be thinking about..?

      Before Eren could open his mouth to ask, Levi abruptly stood up from the bed, causing the youth to fall back on his butt. 

      “What-?” Eren was about to protest but he was interrupted by the voices of Armin and Jean, getting very close to the door.

      “...asleep long enough, don't you? Maybe I should go wake him up.”

      “Why? So he can open his stupid mouth again and start talking? I say leave him. Let's go get dinner. I'm starving.”

      “Jean, if we’re eating, then we should really…”

      Eren watched in horror as his doorknob began to rattle. He scrambled to undo the belt holding his arms secured together behind him but the restraints didn't move an inch. Levi watched him flail with a blank expression on his face.

      “I should go,” Levi announced suddenly, his voice giving away nothing.

      “What? No!”

      Eren’s protests fell on deaf ears. Levi put back on his jacket and casually buttoned the top button. He zipped back up his pants and didn’t even bother to untie Eren for his belt, walking over to the door and swinging it open with a decisive click. Armin and Jean stood there, dumbfounded, as Levi brushed past them and left the apartment. Armin glanced into Eren’s room and his face turned a bright shade of red. Jean clicked his tongue in annoyance.

      “So, not only are you suspended, but you’re fooling around with that guy in your room while we’re here?” Jean snapped at Eren. “How inconsiderate can you get?”

      “Jean…” Armin said, putting a cautioning arm on Jean’s arm. “Just leave it.”

      “Fuck this,” Jean growled, stomping into the kitchen. Armin looked after him for a moment, but then entered Eren’s room to untie him.

      “Sorry,” Eren muttered, unable to look Armin in the face.

      “It’s okay,” Armin said, trying to sound light hearted while avoiding looking anywhere but at the belt keeping Eren’s arms tied together. “We probably came in and interrupted you guys right?”

      “You weren’t… We didn’t…” Eren struggled to find the right words.

      Armin gave him a sympathetic look. “Levi looked mad when he left,” Armin pointed out. “Did something happen?”

      “It’s my fault,” Eren said. “I didn’t text him back and he got worried and Mikasa has my phone and I’m not supposed to leave the house and… and none of this shit would be happening if I hadn’t done that today.”

      Armin released Eren from his bonds. Eren rubbed his wrists and stared longingly at Levi’s belt.  _ I’m a terrible boyfriend, aren’t I? _

     “You should go take that back to him,” Armin said.

     “I can’t leave. Mikasa will kill me.”

     “He probably hasn't even left the parking lot yet,” Armin said. He pushed Eren’s shoulder. “Go. Apologize properly.”

     Eren looked at the belt and then back at Armin’s face.

     Armin sighed and pushed Eren's shoulder again.” _ Go. _ You'll hate yourself forever if you don't.”

     Eren squeezed the belt in his hand and got up, fixing his clothes and stuffing his feet into some sneakers. He glanced back at Armin just as he was about to head out. “Armin… Thanks. For everything.”

     Armin chuckled at that. “After all this time, do you really still feel the need to thank me? We’re best friends, Eren. I'm used to your shit by now.”

     Armin meant well by that statement but Eren still felt his heart sink a little bit at the words. He turned and rushed out of the front door, ignoring a snide comment about getting in so much trouble later with Mikasa made by Jean and dashing down the stairs. Eren scanned the parking lot and realized that he didn't spot Levi's car anyway. 

_      Fuck! I must have missed him by just a few seconds…  _ Eren had half a mind to go all the way to Levi's house, Mikasa’s rules be damned. He stared down the sidewalk, his mind already walking that path to the nearest subway station. He could be at Levi's doorstep in less than thirty minutes if he left now.  _ I'm sure Armin will cover for me. He always does. _

     That thought made Eren halt in his tracks. Suddenly his vision got blurry, and his mouth went dry. Eren knew it couldn't be real, but he could have sworn there was blood on his hands just then; Armin's blood.

_     “We’re best friends, Eren. I'm used to your shit by now.” _

     That's what Armin had said while smiling at Eren, with a bandage on his head from the last time Eren had dragged him into his shit. He wasn't going to do that to his best friend anymore. 

     Eren looked at Levi's belt, still clutched in his hand. He slowly placed it into his pocket and turned away.  _ I'm sorry, Levi. _

     Armin and Jean were waiting in the kitchen when Eren walked back in, closing the door with a click behind him. Armin rushed over to Eren with a nervous smile.

     “Did you apologize? Is Levi still mad?” Armin asked urgently.

     Eren bit his lip.

     Armin immediately noticed the tension in his expression. “Did you two not make up..?”

     “What? N-no, we did…”

     “Then why are you making that face?”

     Eren forced his teeth to stop sinking into his lip and attempted to look casual. “Ah, no reason. It's just Levi asked me to stay the night and all, and I can't since I'm basically grounded, and I'm kind of disappointed is all.”

     “Oh.” Armin let out a sigh of relief. “That's all then.”

      Jean laughed from his chair at the mix then table. “Serves you right, Yeager! You need to accept your punishment for what you've done!”

    “Jean,” Armin warned. 

    “What?! It's true!” Jean protested with a pout.

    But Eren wasn't even angry. For once, he agreed with Jean. He did indeed need to start accepting his punishment.


End file.
